After finishing the initial, semi-planned portion of our trip with still over a week left for our vacation, we decided to head to Boston. Arriving in Boston on a Saturday afternoon, we decided to take advantage of the weekend train pass, which allows unlimited trips on the train for only $10 a person, with younger children being free. Because we were staying outside the city, we decided this would be the most economical option, plus it prevented us from having to rent a car and find parking downtown. Wanting to take advantage of our pass, we road the train into the city Saturday evening and spent a few hours exploring the city on foot, before taking the hour-long train ride back to our campground, where we arrived exhausted and thankful that sleep could finally envelop us.
Our train passes also gave us unlimited free train rides the following day, so after riding the train back into Boston, we walked portions of the Freedom Trail and then decided to splurge on a whale watching tour. We were ecstatic to see three humpback whales and a seal on our excursion, watching the whales surface and re-submerge for 30 minutes or more. As I watched everyone hiding behind their phones, trying to capture amazing pictures and videos, I couldn’t help thinking that they were missing the moment and the breathtaking experience.
The next morning we grabbed a rental car, since we choose not to tow a car when we travel in our Class A RV, and we drove to Harvard University, a place with my love a academia, that I have always wanted to visit. After a self-guided tour of the campus, we headed to Cape Cod National Seashore.
At Cape Cod, signs were posted everywhere to beware of Great White Sharks feeding in the area. As we walked down to the beach and watched seal after seal float along in the water just off the shore, the lure of sharks to the area made perfect sense. Afraid of sharks and mesmerized by the seals, we were content just watching the seals swim up and down the shoreline and walking the shore, enjoying the breathtaking views.
The next day we had a full day planned. First, Plymouth, Massachusetts to see the landing place of the pilgrims. Second, a trip to Mystic, Connecticut, to briefly explore a state where none of us had ever visited before. Third, to travel to Newport, Rhode Island to see the mansions that have made Newport famous. Each stop was brief, but we determined that would be sufficient for this trip.
We began the day exploring Plymouth. After being in Boston, we were surprised by how quaint and un-touristy the town felt. We viewed Plymouth Rock and visited the 1749 Courthouse Museum. However, in the actual town of Plymouth, there wasn’t much to see or do, so after our brief visit, we headed to Connecticut.
My husband had planned to take us to Mystic, Connecticut to see the Mystic drawbridge open and to walk the quaint town streets. However, the weather had other plans, so we quickly found shelter in the Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream shop. After enjoying ice cream, it was still pouring outside and the drawbridge hadn’t risen, so we ran through the rain to our car, as we wanted to travel to Rhode Island for the late afternoon. By the time we arrived in Newport, Rhode Island, many of the mansion tours were closing for the day. We drove the streets of Newport in an effort to catch glimpses of the mansions in spite of missing the tours, and though we were able to see some, many were hidden from the road. After driving around Newport, we stopped in Bristol, Rhode Island for a wonderful dinner at an Irish Pub.
The next morning, we determined that we had done the activities and seen the sites in the greater Boston area that we desired for this trip, so we loaded up the RV once again. Since we still had some time left for our vacation, we decided a trip to Pennsylvania was in order. After a day of travel, we found ourselves visiting Hershey’s Chocolate World in Hershey, Pennsylvania and enjoying a tour explaining how they make their chocolate. We, of course, did not leave until we had purchased A LOT of chocolate!
The next day in Pennsylvania, we found ourselves exploring and walking the grounds at Gettysburg National Military Park. My son had spent the school year learning about much of history surrounding the battle of Gettysburg, so being able to see Gettysburg for himself was one of his favorite portions of the trip. We could have spent days there because of all of the sites and history at the park, but our trip finally needed to come to an end, so we once again loaded our RV, to begin the remainder of our drive home.
Stopping at an RV park in the mountains of West Virginia that night, we enjoyed watching the kids catch fireflies and play in a creek at the campground. For them, West Virginia was another state they had never before visited, so they enjoyed the opportunity to see and experience more of the continental United States.
After about three and a half weeks on the road, our trip finally came to a close. We had chosen not to stay long at each destination, opting to see and experience our top few sites and activities at each destination, so that we could see as much as possible during our travels.
During our three and a half weeks, we had stared in wonder at Niagara Falls, navigated customs into Canada and back into the United States, hiked the mountains of Vermont, explored beaches and peninsulas of Maine, enjoyed the natural beauty of Acadia National Park, watched humpback whales in the wild, walked much of the Freedom Trail in Boston, explored the Harvard University campus, relaxed at Cape Cod National Seashore, visited Plymouth Rock and the town of Plymouth, traveled to Connecticut and Rhode Island for a day trip, toured Hershey’s Chocolate world, explored Gettysburg National Military Park, and camped for a night in the mountains of West Virginia. Like I said: sometimes our vacations don’t go as planned…they’re even better!
The Traveling Fam 