They said we were crazy. I think they were right. We flew into Boston, stayed the night, drove to New York City, stopping at New Haven on the way, stayed two nights in Manhattan, drove to Philly, back to New York for the next night, and then back to Boston, stopping again at New Haven on the way. All in six days! With three littles!
I was dreading the airplane flights for this trip, mainy because my three-year-old son Jac has autism and requires a lot of sensory input to keep himself calm. Translate: sitting still for two hours is a no-go. Fortunately, he knocked out both ways! Not so with my 22-month-old. That’s the wrong age to take a kid on an airplane, I’m telling ya.
My husband’s two brothers picked us up at the Boston airport in the van that would become our second grimy, snack-smeared, travel-toy-infested home for the next six days. These three planned this trip primarily as a food tour, so the first night was the three of them tracking down as many Boston cream pies as they could. We crashed in a four bedroom Air BnB that was a Victorian beauty reminiscent of Hogwart’s.
After multiple stops, we finally made it to New York the next evening. I love the feeling New York City evokes. There’s so much energy and bigness. Chicago is big, but NYC, wow. We spent all our time in Manhattan, visiting a few spots my husband and I saw on our honeymoon. We left the car at the Air BnB and took the subway. Ha! Did not check for handicap access. Times Square wowed as usual, and Central Park was huge, and totally fun for the kids with a splash park, the second of the day.
We visited a lot of great eateries in Manhattan, but I have to say that Katz Deli was the best. Ridiculously expensive (they charge you $50 if you lose your cafeteria ticket), but the pastrami sandwich was succulent. This was the first restaurant Jac lost his mind in. Overall, he did pretty great, but we had to leave a few restaurants early.
So we brought two strollers on the trip, an umbrella and a lightweight. The lightweight imploded while we were walking the streets of Manhattan. Not extremely convenient. The umbrella was fantastic, but the wheels got jacked up during the flight home. Definitely glad we didn’t bring the double, as carrying that up and down multiple flights of stairs would be a nightmare.
New Haven was somewhat forgettable, Philadelphia was okay (although Kayla claims it was her favorite), But Boston won Best In City. We visited the Swan Boats, situated in the Public Garden, which is my favorite park in the world. It’s so lush and peaceful, sprinkled with musicians playing exotic instruments. The architecture is unique, there was parking (!), and Boston managed to combine and urban feel with a rustic charm. Absolutely our favorite on the trip.
By the end of the six days, short as the vacation was, I was ready to come home! We saw so many amazing things; there were hills! And woods! And different types of buildings, food , and people. The kids were amazingly well-behaved. I struggled a bit with the combination of sleep deprivation and grueling physical activity, but they were fine. I feel like I’ve been reset a bit with this vacation. I really needed to get out. To read about how it made me thankful for my home life, click here. Sometimes we just need a change of scenery!