Boston and Cape Cod (19 months, 23 days old – 19 months, 29 days old)

Ahhh, what a great trip! 
We got back from Paris and had a whirlwind week of unpacking and dealing with getting Graham’s cast off and then Nick was scheduled to take a work trip to Boston.  Since his parents would also be in Boston and his brother had set aside some time to visit, I decided very last minute (we literally booked the flight a day before leaving) that Graham and I would join Nick on the trip. 
We booked a red-eye so Nick would have the next day available to work instead of traveling.  We didn’t get to sit together on the flight, but the fact that Graham and I were able to take Nick’s upgrade to first class made it manageable.  I had lots of room, Graham slept for most of the flight, and everyone around us was really nice. 
We got to Boston and charmed our way into an early check-in at the hotel, so Nick was able to take a shower before going into work and Graham and I were able to get breakfast and start unpacking. 
OK, let the fun begin! 
One of my rowing friends from college (Barbara) lives in Boston and has a daughter (Saya) a little younger than Graham.  Once Graham and I were settled in, we gave Barbara a call and she headed right over (bringing lunch with her, no less!) 
The babies loved each other right away:

After some wonderful catch up time, we got the kids dressed and headed down to the hotel’s pool.  We had grand ideas of doing a full swim lesson with the kids, but all they wanted to do was splash:

We tried to get them to do a quick dunk in the hot tub at the end, but it was too hot for them, so we headed back to the room for a bath instead.  Graham loved taking his plastic bowl and dumping water over Saya’s head:

Barbara headed home for the day and Graham and I took a nap until Nick got home from work.  We met up with Nick’s brother, Tim, and his wife, Mary, for dinner.  I went to bed thinking it had been a fairly perfect first day. 
I had one more day to entertain myself while Nick worked, before we planned to drive to Cape Cod to meet Nick’s parents, who were renting a cottage there for the week. 
I wanted to take Graham to the Freedom Trail so we picked up a map from the front desk and then set out on our adventure (after ordering breakfast in bed)!  I was being a bit of a silly mommy as I took pictures as Graham and I made it through the bus ride and the subway ride.  Hum, Graham doesn’t look quite as excited as I was:

I read Graham the descriptions from the guidebook at every stop along the Freedom Trail and we really took our time to explore and enjoy.  Everywhere we went, people were very nice and helped me carry Graham's stroller up and down steps when we wanted to visit churches, cemeteries, or just take a shortcut. 
Here is Graham posing in front of Paul Revere’s grave:

I wanted to get a picture of what the Freedom Trailed looked like.  Notice the red path and medallion to mark one of the stops:

About halfway through the trail, we met up with Barbara and Saya again.  It was such a treat to spend the entire rest of the afternoon and early evening with them.   I loved reminiscing with Barbara, the kids got along so well, and Barbara brought her local navigation skills and lots of toys to entertain Graham and Saya. 
Before we continued along the trail, we stopped for lunch at a place that specialized in heckling the customers.  We got yelled at for specifically requesting whole milk for the babies and for losing one of the balloons that was given to us, but we managed to enjoy a very tasty meal:

After lunch and a few more stops along the Freedom Trail, Barbara offered to watch both of the kids while I took a detour and waited in line to get one of Mike’s famous cannoli.  All I can say is “Wow.”  I got the classic chocolate dipped cannolo and loved every last bite of it:

The Freedom Trail ended at the Bunker Hill Monument and Barbara and I collapsed in the shade, ready for a rest.  Barbara had bubbles which made Graham and Saya very happy:

I should have been happy just to relax, but I decided to scoop Graham into my arms and climb the 294 steps to the top of the obelisk.  We were hot and tired at the top, but I propped Graham up to take a picture before heading down:

Barbara took one more picture before we headed home (and while Graham and I took this picture, one of his shoes fell off, so I ended up jogging back about a mile to get it when we finally discovered it was missing):

After a great two days, Graham and I said our final goodbyes to Barbara and Saya, but Saya left a lasting impression on Graham.  Graham has been calling out for Saya ever since meeting her.  Here is a video (actually taken over a month after the trip) with Graham happily calling for Saya (21 months, 13 days old):

We enjoyed one final dinner in Boston (it was restaurant week so we had wonderful chef’s tasting menus both nights) before leaving for Cape Cod the next morning. 
Cape Cod was just wonderful.  Nick’s parents rented a little cottage right on the beach:

Graham wasted no time.  When we arrived, he napped for about an hour in the car then woke up, got in his beach outfit, and was ready to play:

We could see the ocean and waves but there was a protected lagoon with shallow water that was the perfect place to park our beach chairs and let Graham play.  The water was full of grass-like seaweed that Graham loved picking up and examining:

He also made friends with some locals, but I think it was just an excuse to get closer to their toy dolphin:

Graham laughed and laughed and laughed when Granddaddy Millington would smash the sand into the ground and reveal the start of a sandcastle:

In addition to the beach and lagoon, there were also lovely grassy areas with bunny rabbits for Graham to explore:

We ate every meal outside at the picnic table and enjoyed locally made (and scrumptious I might add) cinnamon rolls for breakfast each morning:

Before we knew it, it was time to leave and head back to Boston to spend some time with Tim and Mary (and Graham’s cousin Stella) before returning to Santa Barbara.  So we took one last picture and bid farewell to beautiful and relaxing Cape Cod:

After a quick brunch back in Boston, everyone headed to Tim and Mary’s house for an afternoon of play.  Stella got things off to a good start with some rough housing with her mommy and daddy:

She was very kind to share her toys with Graham:

and even invited him to her tea party/meeting table with Uncle Tim:

We tried to get some pictures of the cousins before a walk to the park:

Graham slept through the park trip but was up in time to enjoy the family barbeque:

We were catching an early flight home the next morning, so we took one final group picture (and a 3-generations-of-Millington-men shot) and then said our goodbyes:

Graham made himself comfortable on the airplane and we had a smooth flight home:

Cheers to last-minute trips, reconnecting with old friends, and seizing the opportunity to squeeze in some family time when we were all in the same place.  Boston and Cape Cod, you treated us right and we look forward to visiting again :)