Airport security hasn’t slacked off much since 9/11. None of us were carrying any weapons, though, so we got through easily. Except that I accidentally left my cellphone in my pocket when I stepped through the metal detector device thing. So we got to our gate before they started boarding, and watched Alan point at the planes.
    I found I remembered quite a few things from flying when I was 6. When I stepped into the whatchamacallit hallway between the terminal and the plane, I felt 6 again. But of course I quietly walked on through as if I did this every day. 16-year-old instincts. :-/
    The flight from Austin to Dallas wasn’t particularly remarkable. Except that it was a flight, and flying is exhilarating. They really should make those windows bigger, though. Someday I’m going to go hang-gliding, and look down on the earth with nothing obstructing my view, no loud engines, nothing but me and the sky.
    Our layover time in Dallas was about at hour, so I grabbed Emily and Anna and we walked the length of our terminal. We were going to buy ice cream, but the McDonalds stands didn’t sell it! (fail) So we bought gummy bears. There’s this really funny thing about gummy bears. Ask me about it sometime. I also pulled them (my siblings, not the gummy bears) into a bookstore… where it seemed all the books in stock had been written in the last 20 years. Which means I’ve barely heard of any of them, and didn’t care to. My dad has told me so many times that the best books were written more than 100 years ago, and I am thoroughly convinced that he’s right! Not to say there aren’t exceptions, of course. Anyway, their books didn’t attract my attention, so we looked at their bookmarks. I bought one with Eowyn on it…. because The Lord of the Rings is cool, and because I wanted to. And I needed a bookmark to keep my place while reading David Copperfield. Don’t tell me to use a napkin, or a ripped piece of paper, because those are not at all inspiring. =)

    We boarded the plane to Boston and…… sat there for almost two hours. The maintenence crew apparently found something they ‘wanted to check out, since it’s a longer flight’. So the captain said. So we waited. And I listened to Caedmon’s Call and allowed myself some deep musing over the trip to come, the wonderful friends I have, and… not much else. By the time I was thoroughly bored they finished up and we taxied out at last!
    We happened to be sitting behind a family from Arlington who were also going to the Vision Forum conference in Boston! They all had the most melting British accents. They’d lived in South Africa for a while, and then in London, and now here. The kids were a couple of the most adorable blond-haired girls you can imagine. The oldest (6) talked over the seat to Emily and I quite a bit. I want her accent. ;D
    I consider the fact that the flight was late to be the best thing about it, overall. The first, small reason is that we got to eat in the plane, which was a novelty. Ah, we made such a tourist-y family. There were all these people on the plane traveling for business- trying to sleep the entire way, with their windows down. And then there were us. I didn’t care. It was wonderful to be flying to Boston, and here’s the best thing about the delay. About the time we flew over NY, the sun set behind the clouds, that massive sea of white that bulged and rippled underneath us. And so we flew on in the twilight, and I, by the window, gaped rapturously at the grand masterpieces of light that twinkled below us. I don’t know what cities they were. But from that height they were more beautiful than any cities I’ve ever seen. All those lights, and the coastline… it reminded me of the new Disney castle preview ‘thing’. I kept almost expecting the flag of the castle to shoot up before my eyes. I listened to ‘I Can Only Imagine’ as we flew, and gave myself up to happiness.
    We landed in Boston rather late, especially as we’d changed time zones. And we barely caught our shuttle, which took us from the airport to the hotel. There was a couple in front of us in the van, and I remember the lady assuring her husband that she’d only been on Facebook twice on her trip, and only then to update her status. Emily and I grinned at each other.

    So, leaving her in peace, we walked to the Boston Public Garden, a couple blocks from the hotel. Which, by the way, is called Park Plaza. The Garden is a lovely little oasis in the middle of all the bustle. It bustles itself, but only with walkers, like us. The Northeast has had tons of rain this year, so everything’s green. And so alive, you can feel it! I wish they’d send some rain our way! We yellow roses of Texas are tending to droop.
    The trees in the Garden are magnificent beauties, and I think whoever does the flower beds is singularly creative. The flowers we all liked best were big, purple balls stuck on very long, spindly stalks. Dr. Seuss flowers, they are called. But only by us, of course. I’m sure their rightful name is perfectly noble. =) Maybe.
Let me see now, what did we do next? …. Um.. oh, yes, we went back to the hotel to wait for mom to come down. We knew she’d want to see everything with us. While we were waiting in the lobby we looked at the postcards in the giftshop. They had some nice ones, but they were rawther expensive, so we didn’t buy them, and waited some more. When she came down (at last we all marched out to find something to eat. We ended up at a California Pizza Kitchen- very Boston, I know. Afterwards, on the way to the Boston Common, we spied a tiny old bookshop, and couldn’t resist being drawn in. What a place it was! I have never encountered such a delightful little nook for a bookshop. We could have spent hours there. The best thing, to me, was the comfortable smell that belongs especially to books, completely filling the rooms. But after twenty minutes, we were on our way again, to the Boston Common. I heard on one of the following days that since the Common is the ‘common ground’, it is lawful to graze your cattle there! Though apparently someone actually tried it, and so a law was made that you can’t take your cattle on the street. So now, if you want to graze your bovines on the Boston Common, you’ll have to fly them in.
    There’s this gazebo-type structure in the middle of the Common, which I never really discovered the purpose of, but it was fun to take pictures there.

    We walked further along, and found a stand selling nuts (roasted, I believe, but not chestnuts), and Somebody wanted some, so we got some. And then we walked to the playground to let Anna and Alan romp around. Right next to the playscape is a shallow pool called the Frog Pond. It’s quite extensive, though it is shallow, and it seemed to have been made just for kids to play in. There was a lifeguard and everything. Anna took advantage of all that water just sitting around, and splashed in, even though it was pretty cold outside. =)
    When the rest of us got ready to move on, we made our way up towards the cemetery where Paul Revere is buried. It’s just a block from the BC. On the way there, we saw a stand selling ‘fried dough’. AKA Funnel Cakes, in Texas! We laughed, but didn’t get any.
    The cemetery is a quite little lot right off a busy street. Buildings had been shoved in all around it, towering above and blocking the pale sunlight. It was cloudy that day, and on that small piece of lawn and trees and tombstones, it was really very cold. But we meandered around for at least an hour, looking for familiar names. Paul Revere, John Hancock, James Otis, Samuel Adams, and victims of the Boston Massacre are all buried there. As well as a bunch of other people. It was a very sweet little cemetery.
    Although we were cold, and hadn’t brought jackets, we left the cemetery for Beacon Hill. Once out from the shadow of so many trees and buildings we were much warmer, anyway. Beacon Hill is the most charming neighborhood I have ever seen! Quaint would describe it. I was quite enchanted. The cobblestone streets, the window boxes with all manner of flowers, the lamp posts (with the inevitable ‘no parking’ signs, which were the bane of my photography endeavors), the doors set down below the street, the doors set high above the street, the alcoves perching above me, the bricks, the old paint, the American flags. I can’t tell you about it all. Go there and fall in love.

    We proceeded on down steep ladders with brass railings to the next level, where all the cannons were. Cannons are cool. They each had a name too, such as Liberty Forever, or Jumping Billy. =) All this time I was snapping pictures. I was the main photographer for the trip, though Emily took a lot too, and I think the percentage of her pics that actually came out well is probably as high as mine, though I took more.
    Down in the belly of the ship we were told the famous story of the Constitution’s battle when she began to be called ‘Old Ironsides’. And that was all we got to see, but it was a lot, and it was thoroughly fabulous!
    When we came out we discovered that it was drizzling rather gloomily, and we hurried into the museum and gift shop next door. That gift shop is where we bought most of our postcards.
    It was still raining and cold when we finished, but to me it was perfect weather for being there at the bay, and I couldn’t keep from smiling as I walked quickly on. (The faster you walk, the warmer you get.) You know you’re perfectly content when you honestly have trouble holding back a big smile. It was so hard to not be able to sing. I’ll bet I looked pretty ridiculous, striding ahead of my family, without a jacket, and my face held up to the rain. But I was having a wonderful time. I only wish some of my friends had been there. Knowing us, we would have linked arms, and skipped, making total spectacles of ourselves! It would’ve been blissful. But I still had great fun with my family- laughing with Mama, and embracing the wind! We stopped at a little cafe to eat. I had a grilled tuna salad sandwich. I don’t know why I mention it; I’m surprised I still remember!

    We finished, and then- back through the streets, and back over the see-through bridge. As we walked on the left of the highway, we had to keep as far left to the sidewalk as possible- which was hard to do, because there were people coming from both directions- or else we’d get splashed by a car. Honestly, we came so close! Our umbrellas were, of course, no protection. And still,
I remember being so giddily happy, that my mom laughed at me, and said, “You won’t be so happy if you get drenched by one of those cars!” But I am convinced I would have. I don’t think much could have injured my spirits just then. =)
    And then we got on the subway. And although it didn’t ”injure my spirits’, it did calm me down somewhat. You can’t even move in a subway train!
    Back at the hotel, we hurried up to change before the opening ceremonies of the conference. I had to brush my hair rather carefully, after having it tossed so much by the wind.

    When the talks began, I went to one about the importance of documents through the ages, and the sacrifices of those who fought for them. He talked a lot about Alfred the Great, and Scotland in her fight against England, which is always fascinating, to me. He announced that he’s taking a tour to Scotland next year. Oh, I’d love to go so much!
    By the time the first session was over, I was very ready to get out into the city! We went to eat at a Souper Salad, which was NOT anywhere near as convenient as our SSs in Texas. They priced their salad bar by the pound! They seem to do that a lot in the Northeast, and I don’t like it.
    Let’s see…. so after that (I’m writing like a 4th-grader: ‘and then we went to the mall. and then we bought donuts. and then we went home.’) SO after that, we walked like 10 blocks. I really have no idea how far it was. But I remember thinking it was far, because I didn’t even know where we were going! On the way, we saw a little gift shop with the sign ‘Lobstahs!’ in the window. ;-D Not really sure why those Bostonians like lobsters so much. We ended up at the Old South Meeting House. A very fascinating historical marker. If you remember what you learned in elementary school, this was where Sam Adams declared: “This meeting can do no more to save the country.” And from there spilled half the men in Boston, to go dump tea into the harbor. The Meeting House has been restored nicely, and it looks like a church- all white-washed wood. I walked between the seats (those walled pew-type boxes) and thought about the men who gathered here, so long ago. I remember reading about it in Johnny Tremain, which is of course historical fiction, but fiction can often add romance to events like nothing else can, except being there and seeing it yourself!

    Down in the gift shop, I finally got to talk to Christina, since she called me back. Good friend that she is.
    We followed the famous Freedom Trail to Faneuil Hall. It used to be a meeting place of some kind, I believe, but now it’s a collection of shops, and we gals browsed happily for a while! Here I bought a very pink T-shirt that says LOVE boston across the front. And when we got home late that evening, I discovered that it had a hole in it, near the bottom! Erg. I patched it when I got home (really home), but I’m still quite put out about it! I shouldn’t ever buy clothing on vacation.
    Scanning the thousands of souvenirs in Faneuil Hall, I happened to find some stuffed beans. I’m talking stuffed like your little sister’s toy cat. :-0 So I had Emily take a picture of me with one, just so I could put it on Picasa and caption it ‘Cool beans!’
    Outside of Faneuil Hall there was a brother-sister acrobat performance going on. (They weren’t that good… but the guy’s British accent was very cool.) They were funny too, from the very few moments I saw at the end. When he was ‘passing the hat’ (which wasn’t a hat), he’d remark on the money kids gave him. “I just goh-t ten doh-llars from a li-ttle kid! The kid didn’t even have a joh-b!” Yeah… you had to have been there to laugh. Whatever.

    We took a few steps in the direction we wanted to head next… and then stopped, because we spied some pressed penny machines. You know those machines where you insert a couple quarters and a penny, and turn the crank to stamp an image onto the penny? Yes. We stopped at those fairly often. I don’t know why they’re appealing- they just are. Come on… you can’t tell me you’ve never been dragged to one of those by your siblings, or dragged them over to one yourself! Unfortunately, the machine we chose was malfunctioning, and it spit out a penny with lobsters and beans on it, instead of the Boston skyline I wanted. Rip-off. =)
    At last we tore ourselves away from the penny machines and started walking some more. We walked past the Green Dragon Tavern- the original one where Sam Adams and the rest used to meet and plot about the war! It’s still in use as a pub.
    Still following the freedom trail, we crossed the street into the oh-so-delightful area known as Little Italy! Wow, I love that area! It’s really hard to describe, but I think it of it as a rich place- not rich as in money, but in history, people, and flowers. Colors abounded, and I almost forgot the rain. I wish we’d been able to eat there! Anyone who likes Italian food would find himself very happy in Little Italy.
    We were bound for Paul Revere’s House. It wasn’t much to look at, from our side of the street, and it was closed, so we couldn’t go in. But still cool. Oh, and I forgot to mention the cobblestone streets! The historic North End is the perfect place for a photo-shoot.

   
    This morning I slept in until like 9. :-/ Dad and the kids went down promptly to the first conference session, but Mom and I were content to eat, shower, and get ready at leisure. I went down the the next session and listened to Doug Phillips’ talk on ‘Music and the arts throughout the ages’. It was excellent, putting into words what I had in my heart, if I may borrow that phrase from whoever said it first. He talked about how we all base most of our thoughts about music and art on personal preference, and he acknowledged the role preference plays. But he stressed that the way we can know whether the music and art we encounter is God-pleasing or not, is to look at God’s roll in the universe, and His creation. God is a God of order, say the scriptures. So our music and art must be orderly. And etcetera. I think he articulated the reasons we ‘like’ some art forms, and ‘don’t like’ others. God’s patterns beat in our hearts, and if certain music/art/whatever jars them, we ‘don’t like’ it. But we need to know why. And that’s what the talk was about: Why. Anyways, I thought it was great.
    I meandered around the Mezzanine again after the talk. Elizabeth Botkin and I got to talk for a while. She is one of the sweetest people I know, trying to please God with her whole heart. I love her very much. I also introduced her to my sister Emily, and we showed her Alan’s new little ‘trick’ of kissing girls’ hands. It is the most adorable thing you will ever see, and I pity those who don’t have a little brother.
    We were scheduled to tour the State House that morning, so my mom and Alan and Emily and I headed that way. Dad and Anna stayed behind, so she could get more autographs from famous dead people.

    As we approached the State House, we were about to lift Alan in his stroller up some stairs, when a family from the conference came to help us out. Very gallant- thanks Joseph, and Mr. H! We got to know them better over that day and the next.
    I wasn’t too enthralled with the State House Tour…. but it was interesting, (the building is neat, with its gold-plated dome!) and even though we didn’t get to go inside, our guide showed us a lot of interesting statues and the like outside of it. The most interesting thing to me was the brass eagle perched atop a marble pedestal, around the back of the State House. It’s the first monument ever erected in America, and even though it’s been slightly relocated, it still held a fascination for me. (Besides, we got to sit down while looking at it. The weather had changed drastically from the night before, and now it was in the mid eighties, and sunny! *gasp of disbelief*) The plaque on the back of the pedestal reads thus: ‘Americans, while from this eminence scenes of luxuriant fertility, of flourishing commerce and the abodes of social happiness meet your view, forget not those who by their exertions have secured to you these blessings.’ Isn’t that amazing, and it’s so sad that our entire country HAS forgotten.
    The tour came to a close, then, and we took leave of the group, and the H’s. We ate lunch at Finagle-a-Bagle. I love that name! Their food was okay. Then (4th grader writing again here), we got ice cream at McDonalds. Fun stuff. It was complicated, though, because we all had a cone, and somebody still had to push the stroller! Emily and I ended up pushing it together- each with one hand on the stroller, and holding our ice cream in the other. I’ll bet we looked like homeschoolers. ;D
    We got back to the hotel to find that Mr. Phillips had come out in his full Samuel Adams costume, and was playing the part grandly. I assure you, it was hysterical. His son was dressed as Sir Walter Raleigh, and they had a rather fun conversation, each keeping strictly to his historical roll. Thus, neither of them could know what the other was talking about. =) Mr. Adams talked to many famous dead people that afternoon, and didn’t care how much he knew about their time periods- as long as they weren’t Tories.

    When it was over at last, everyone gathered in the lobby to hear the liberty bell rung. I don’t remember if I mentioned that they had a replica of the Liberty Bell in the lobby for the conference. Anyway, at two o’clock they rang it. It was rawther loud.
    At this point I really had nothing to do. It was lunch time, but Alan and Dad were both sleeping. And because they were sleeping we  couldn’t go back up to the room. If Daddy is asleep in the middle of the day it means he is really tired. =) So the rest of us hung out in the lobby for a while. I tried to call Christina, but she didn’t answer the phone (again!), and then I called my aunt, and then I called my friend Michael. Yup, I was bored. I probably texted too, I just can’t remember.
    Eventually my dad called my mom, telling her that he and Alan were both awake and we could come up and change. I changed into my little blue dress that is like my favorite article of clothing ever! White shoes and purse and a red ribbon in my hair completed the Independence Day look.
    Patriotic food was in order, so we… went to an Italian restaurant. Yes, fail, I know. =) It was good though!

    Being in Boston on the 4th, how could we miss their Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular?! After lunch, we hurried along towards the Esplanade. It was insanely windy. Wind and the full skirt of my dress do not mix well. I had to hold on to it as if my life depended on it! I was also wearing a little newsboy cap, which threatened to blow off my head. So I took it off to stuff it into my purse. But unfortunately, as I held it in my while I struggled to open my purse, I dropped it somehow, and off it went, shuffling across the sidewalk. Erg, and I had to run after that ridiculous hat, holding my skirt all the while, until I finally pinned it down with my foot. Not very elegant. *wrinkles nose*
    We found, when we reached the Esplanade, that there was an absolute mob of people there. The Hatch area where the Boston Pops was playing was filled, and the police weren’t letting anyone in. So after MUCH walking through, around, beside, into people, we grabbed a spot on the grass by the river, about the size of a coffee table, and tumbled down. It was disappointing not to get to see the Boston Pops, but we were decently near a loud-speaker. We waited and waited (we were like 2 hours early), and talked to the couple behind us of a blanket, and waited some more. I texted a couple ‘Happy 4th’ messages. When they finally began, it was with Aaron Copland’s ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’. Love that piece. The Boston Pops was great, the jazz quartet they had brought in was great, Neil Diamond was great. It was all very wonderful. I liked Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’. CUTE song. Apparently it’s the ‘theme song’ of sorts for the Red Sox. All the locals were singing it, and so was I! I sang and watched the lights of Cambridge come on in the growing dark, and wanted to swing dance with someone. But of course there was no one to dance with me, so I just sang. *sigh*
    The fireworks were right on time! It was a magnificent show- better than I’ve ever seen. 21 minutes of blowing stuff up- what could be better? As Craig Ferguson, some talk show host for Boston (with a Scottish accent!) said before they began: “We’re going to celebrate like true Americans! We’re gonna make a lot of noise, and we’re gonna blow. stuff. up!” Well said.

    After changing into more comfortable attire, we had a family parliament meeting, and decided to go to the beach. Fun times. Taking the subway, we piled out at Revere Beach. And then walked half-way around it to get to the restaurant we wanted to eat at. Somebody had told us about the great roast beef sandwiches at a particular spot, so we walked an extremely long way, and finally found it. And actually, they weren’t much out of the ordinary. I prefer Arby’s.
    The seagulls up there are just like those in finding Nemo. Very dumb and very hungry. And rather large.
    As soon as I could, I ditched my shoes and danced down onto the sand. Ah, bliss! I ignored everything but the delicious sand and those perfectly smooth stones that had been tossed by the sea. I actually had never been to the Atlantic ocean before- just the Gulf of Mexico. Ha, I don’t get about as much as I should like. I’d like to tour the world, if I had the money!
    Except for the nose-wrinkling seaweed riddled about, it was all amazing. The water was freezing. Little shells were there in profusion. We saw a seagull eat a stingray. Someday I’ll go to the Atlantic again, but to a quieter place, and lose myself in wonder. Maybe I’ll see it from the other side, if I’m so gloriously blessed! From the shores of Europe. And I should like to go sailing. I’ve never been before. Ah, I’m rambling. As you can see, there are many adventures I’d like to take. Unlikely, I fear, but I still fantasize.

    It wasn’t too long before we headed down to the tracks. After a few commuter trains came through, our train arrived at last, and the caravan piled on. We wanted optimum window space, so the 6 of us took up 4 double seats. It wasn’t crowded. Not at first, anyhow. :-/
    Before we’d arranged the seating to everyone’s pleasure, the train began to move. And we still had to heft all the luggage into the overhead racks. It was crazy. There was a gentleman who helped us out, though, and we were quite grateful!
    Thus began the 5-hour train ride. I had never ridden on an Amtrak before. I wasn’t missing anything wonderful. To be sure, we passed some lovely seaside scenery in Rhode Island, etc., but most of the route was obscured by trees, and trains usually do go through the worst part of towns. That makes sense, surely, but I did not especially enjoy it.
    I spent the time listening to music, writing quotes in my quote book, and reading David Copperfield. We rode along, stopped every so often, ate when it was time, rode some more. I did learn that the top speed for a train like that one was 150 mph!

    As it began to get later, we approached New York City. We were resolved to get out there, and see the Empire State Building close up! The train stopped for 15 minutes. The minute the doors opened, we (myself, Mom, Emily and Anna) piled out, raced up the escalator into the station, raced up the escalator to the ground floor, raced out of the doors, raced around a couple corners, and beheld before us that building that I in my 3-year-old wisdom used to call the ‘Entire State Building’. I took about 3 pictures, and then we raced back. It all took about 10 minutes. And my pictures are actually half-way decent!

    The rest of the trip was not especially eventful. I wish it had been.
    We were the last ones out of our car in D.C, on account of all our luggage, which had to be re-strapped and stuff. Once in the actual station, we split for a while, to use the bathroom/find food for Alan/shop. I did the latter, and bought myself a black hat with a bow. It’s hard to describe. Sorta newsboy, I guess, but not really. It has shimmery threads in it, which I like. What’s funny is that when I bought it I checked it carefully for holes/defects. And yet when we got to the hotel the bow promptly fell off. Even though it was easy to sew back on, I decided not to purchase any more clothing articles during the trip!
    Once all back together, we had to catch a subway train. There was some confusion about our subway passes, which was resolved with some difficulty. But we made it on the trolley at last, with all our baggage. I must declare here that I hate D.C. subways. Boston was fine, but D.C. is horrid. Don’t ask me why, because I don’t know!