Posted on 8 Comments

I don’t think we’re in NJ anymore, Toto

Neil has been planning to be away this weekend for months, and I’ve been making little lists in my head of things that I wanted to accomplish while he was gone. Besides the requisite “something interesting to do with the kids,” I wanted to sew a couple of aprons & scarves to sell, ship some orders, take down the Christmas tree, write up instructions for those who’ll be watching the kids while I’m away next week, plan what I’ll be bringing to Synergy, blah blah blah.

So faced with this significant laundry list, I did what any reasonable person would do.

 

The view from our hotel window

I went on vacation.

Ok, maybe it’s not really a vacation as much as a change-of-scenery. I decided at the last minute to accompany Neil on his trip, because when asked “what do you want to do today?” at least one of my boys invariable says “stay in a hotel!”

And when they say “stay in a hotel,” they don’t mean what normal people mean: sightseeing, shopping, enjoying the local flavor. No, they mean jellybeans, hot chocolate, and cable TV. They need never leave the room to be happy.

Theoretically, this meant that I could indulge their desire for a weekend of sugary slothfulness and still accomplish some of my more portable goals.

 

We took a trip to Boston

So there we were in Boston yesterday, the sun streaming in the hotel window. We’d just returned from a short expedition to get the lay of the land, when I made the simple suggestion that we should go for a walk and get a little early supper. They agreed, I glanced at a Google map, and off we went. For about 1/3 of a mile. It was cold, it was windy, and I wasn’t confident enough in my sense of the surroundings to know if we were heading into a nice area of the city or not. We turned around, got the car from the garage after reluctantly parting with an enormous parking fee, and went off to get some take-out from Burger King to bring back to the room.

 

The view from our hotel window

2.5 hours later, we were back and our view looked like this. Yeah, a take-out run doesn’t usually take two and a half hours, but this trip didn’t exactly turn out the way I’d planned. For one thing, I didn’t see any of the same street names that I’d spied on my quick glance at the map, so I just headed in the right general direction, parked in the first spot I saw, and ate at the first place I found. After a nicely-satisfying early supper at Bennigan’s, I tried to get back to the hotel, but between one-way streets, and a completely ungridlike city layout, I ended up in a tunnel that took me WAAAAAAY out of the way. I spent the next 1.5 hours trying to get back, without a map or a real clue. What a frustrating trip that was!

We came back, theboys took baths (ah, the novelty of cleansing oneself in an unfamiliar tub) and then the three of us piled into one bed, turned off the lights, and watched a Sponge Bob movie on TV. I had hoped someone would fall asleep during that, but unfortunately the only one to doze off was me icon_rolleyes-flickr-1-7

 

Waking up in Boston

So, a new day dawned. A new, bright, beautiful day. A new, bright, beautiful, and entirely too cold day. It seems a shame to be in a city rich with history (and shopping…) and to spend it couped up in a single room watching TV. But I did have my to-do list to keep me busy. And I was still irritated enough from the previous night’s experience not to relish the idea of driving anywhere. And the boys?

 

What some little boys would do all day if I let them

Well, the boys pretty much started off their day being hypnotized.

 

What some little boys would do all day if I let them

By a sponge.

 

Airport from our window

I actually was in danger of hypnosis myself. Watching airplanes take off and land can do that to a person…

 

Finally a craft that is relatively portable.

Luckily I’d brought a distraction with me.

 

New scarf

And I used it to make this.

 

Apron in progress

And begin work on this. I got a little bored and quit, but with luck I’ll finish it up before we check out.

 

Sightseeing in the lobby

At this point, the TV is off, we’ve done an hour or so of further hotel exploration, and we’ve narrowly averted a playtime crisis:

 

A new kind of superhero team

Aidan wouldn’t let Eamonn play with his Ultraman figures, but luckily I was able to get my hands on a very special super team for Eamonn: Shampoo Man, Mouthwash Boy, Mrs. Cream, Conditioner Lady, Soap Guy and Soap Girl. Whew.

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Posted on 8 Comments

8 thoughts on “I don’t think we’re in NJ anymore, Toto

  1. Enjoy your weekend! & the new action figures! WOW, who knew those innocuous bottles were all that!

    Sounds perfectly normal to me, lol! When we go to Stone Mtn (a lovely park w/ tons of out door activites), all the kids want to do is swim in the indoor pool!

    Ugh, I would avoid another 2 hour trip around town as well!

    1. Yeah, thank goodness they are so imaginative. I can give them the little spark of naming the toiletries, and they can turn it into an adventure!

      I do wish we could have got some local window shopping done this weekend, but it’s cold outside and the boys are not at their most cooperative today – not really a recipe for success, LOL!

  2. Hi Lisa,

    Oh dear, welcome to Boston! I loved reading about your adventure.

    You and your son are so imaginative with the hotel toiletries! Kids have the most wonderful knack for turning the most ordinary objects into magic.

    Your driving story reminded me of many years ago when my Mom and I ventured into Boston to look for my prom gown. We thought we could get to the Prudential Center just by seeing the building and working our way over to it. Not. The city of mishmashed one way streets! Well, the good news is that we finally got there with a story very similar to yours.

    See you at Synergy!

    -Karen

    See what Karen has been blogging about: My EZ Cube Light Tent

  3. I wish your boys would rub off on my husband. I looove to stay in a hotel and not go anywhere. But Aaron’s all, “Let’s completely exhaust ourselves sightseeing and doing EVERYTHING available!” Ugh. Not me. 🙂

    And you got to stay at the Westin. I *heart* Westin hotels.

    See what Christie has been blogging about: iGoogle missing?

  4. What is it with kids and hotels, mine love to stay in them too. I, on the other hand, am stressing if they really cleaned it or not and what bodily fluids may be hanging around :yuck: I am fine with my family’s dirt, but not really keen on strangers’ LOL

    I guess they like the change in scenery, which I can appreciate. What a great idea to bring your sewing machine.

    See what Tonya Richard has been blogging about: Walking again

  5. love the super hero names – very creative!

    Ha. Boston and grid do not go together – well actually New England and grid do not go together. I get the biggest kick out of my co-workers that have to go up to New England to visit clients. I get to hear their ranting and raving about “no grid… too many round-a-bouts” <— stupid term used out here (kansas) for the rotary (the proper term as all new englander’s know)
    and the street numbering makes no sense in new england.. blah blah blah
    That’s the price you pay for absolutely gorgeous scenery and an overwhelming amount of history. *sigh* I want to come back and visit!!!

    See what Jen has been blogging about: Sunday with the Lange’s

  6. I disappear to Seattle for the weekend and a wedding and you sneak out to Boston. Looks like the boys were having fun watching that sponge thing.

  7. […] a few minutes of driving around looking for the other hotel, I decided to avoid a repeat of last weekend, and just give Neil a call.  He kindly looked up the address for me, and I found the place about a […]

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