Franklin Park Zoo [Boston]

If you've just started reading about our vacation, don't start here. Go back to the beginning and read them in order. Trust me, it will all be better in the end if you read from the start. And if you're behind, don't worry. You can catch up pretty quickly. Just follow the links below.

Day 1: Museum of Science

Day 2: Children's Museum

Day 3: 4th of July

Day 4: Canoe River Campground

Day 5: New England Aquarium

 

Alright, now I can talk about our last day in Boston, our last morning at the campground, and our visit to the Franklin Park Zoo. The morning started off slow. We woke up pretty early in the morning, but our entire site was in disarray. It had been late when we got back the night before and there was no packing happening after such a long day. Plus it was dark and I didn't want to pack with a flashlight.

 

That morning they were having a French Toast breakfast at the campground. It was quick and easy, so we headed out to meet some new friends for breakfast and to let KBug and their daughter play on the playground for a little while. The girls had a blast, and didn't want to leave when we told them it was time to go. V literally stood there while we walked away and didn't join us until we were almost out of sight. She and KBug were fast friends and it was adorable watching them play, but heartbreaking watching them say goodbye and give each other hugs.

 

 

After our long goodbyes, we wandered back to our campsite. Mr. Boston and I set out packing our belongings, breaking down the tent and being creative in putting everything back in the car. It was interesting and annoying, but we managed to get it all in and we set off for the zoo!

 

Again, I was smart. I checked ahead of time and we were able to get into the zoo for half price because of our membership at the NC Aquariums down here. Awesome? I think so! We made our way in and decided our first stop couldn't be anything other than a bathroom. So off we went. We managed to find one pretty close to the entrance and went on from there.

 

The first few exhibits we saw were pretty boring. The gorillas were all sleeping. How dare they be sleeping when we come to see them! We asked a member of the zoo staff if they would be awake at any point and they explained that they were sleeping in preparation for their lunch. We were told that they would likely be awake in an hour or so after they had been fed. We were also informed that the majority of the animals in that particular area would be sleeping and decided we would walk through, but then come back again later.

 

 

 

We continued on through the exhibits, seeing all that we could see. When we came around to the zebras and giraffes, one of Mr. Boston's step brothers joined us! He recently spent some time in the hospital and was in some pain, but he really wanted to see Mr. Boston and meet KBug and I so he joined us for the day. KBug was more than willing to slow down a bit for him and I thought it was really sweet of her to be so understanding.

 

 

 

We kept wandering around, going through the "Franklin Park Farm" and checking out the amazing playground they have in the middle of the zoo. Seriously, that park was awesome! I almost climbed up to play with KBug, but decided against it. She was off having fun and I didn't want to intrude on her good time.

 

After a couple of hours we made it through the entire zoo, and even remembered to go back to see if the gorillas were awake. I was so excited because we made it around to their exhibit and I was able to get some really great pictures of them! Plus I love seeing the gorillas... And I really wanted to watch Tarzan...

 

 

Now, most zoos and parks and such have gift shops at the entrances. This one was in the middle. So once we made it all the way back to the entrance, we had to walk all the way back to the middle for the gift shop. Honestly, I didn't have a problem with it because I'd spent our vacation locating AR books for KBug and I wanted to see if I could find another one. So KBug and I headed to the gift shop while Mr. Boston and his brother headed for the car as they were both in pain from the amount of walking we had done.

 

KBug and I had a successful visit to the gift shop. She was able to find a small toy and I found another AR book! Go me! I think that was the best part of our vacation for me. I love finding books that will challenge her.

 

Once we made it back to the car we said our goodbyes to Mr. Boston's brother. We also said our goodbyes to Boston. And with that we were on our way to our next adventure in Philadelphia!

New England Aquarium [Boston]

I guess it's that time. Time to write about our trip to the New England Aquarium. But this wasn't an easy trip like the past few days had been. Why?

Because KBug's father met us there.

 

I didn't receive confirmation from the Ex Husband that he and his family would be joining us until the afternoon before. Naturally I hadn't told her that he would be joining us yet because I didn't want to get her hopes up and then have him disappoint her as he has countless times before. I didn't think that would be fair to her. She has had so much emotional upset in her life because of her father that I didn't want to cause an additional upset if there was no reason.

 

So Mr. Boston, KBug and I got up that morning, drove into Boston and found the parking garage. ($35 for parking. Ouch!) Once we parked the car, we put what we needed in our little backpack (wallets, phones, band-aids, etc.) and I held KBug for a minute while I told her about the day.

 

I told her that her father and his family were coming to join us and was met with a sort of blank stare. She found her voice and repeated it, after which she said "OK, can we go in now?"

 

So far so good.

 

Off we went to wait in line for tickets. If I had been smart I would have thought to reserve them online ahead of time, but I wasn't that smart. Oh well. It only took us about ten minutes to get through the line, pay for our tickets and have our picture taken before entering the aquarium.

 

Rather than standing around with a KBug who couldn't wait to go into the aquarium, Mr. Boston and I decided to take her into the small section right off the entrance where you can pet the stingrays. She's always loved the open tanks where she can feel the stingrays as the swim by, so I thought it would be a good distraction. Especially since I had yet to hear from the Ex Husband.

 

After spending a few minutes in there, I finally got a text that said they were in line for tickets. OK, I told him where we were and we decided we would meet just inside the aquarium entrance. Not a problem. I took KBug to the restroom and we waited. And we waited. And we waited. KBug isn't good at waiting and she wasn't all that interested in waiting for Daddy, to be honest. She was more interested in me holding her and talking about what was in the aquarium that we might see.

 

Once they made it into the aquarium and over to us, the Ex Husband said hi to KBug and she just sort of stared at him. Like I said before, she wasn't very interested. After bathroom trips for their family, KBug got slightly more comfortable and started up a conversation with their 3.5-year-old son and tried to talk with their 1.5-year-old daughter.

 

Then we headed into the aquarium. We sort of stuck together as a group, going to see the Seal show outside and venturing around the first floor. But once we started moving up around the giant tank in the center of the aquarium, we weren't really a group anymore.

 

KBug has always loved aquariums. But she wants to see everything. So she doesn't stay in one spot for very long. Basically she was constantly on the move, to the point where getting pictures of her was a little bit difficult because she didn't want to stand still. I managed, though.

 

We stayed together in something resembling a group through the second floor. But KBug had missed the jellyfish and I wanted to be sure she saw them. So I pulled her away, mentioned I was taking her to see the jellyfish and we went down to the tank.

 

By the time I turned around, they were gone. Mr. Boston, KBug and I thought we would move up to the next level to see if we could find them. Well, we couldn't. KBug was anxious to keep looking and was calling continuously to Mr. Boston and I to come see the tanks, so we moved on figuring we would run into them soon.

 

A few minutes later I received a text asking where we were. I told them we were on the third floor. They asked if we weren't a group anymore and I explained that I had taken her to see the jellyfish and they were gone when I turned around. They responded that they were at the top floor. I said we would be there soon.

 

We finished up half of the third floor and made our way up to the top. It took us a minute to locate them once we were up there, and by the time we did they were heading back downstairs. Awesome. I let KBug look around and then we headed down to meet them.

 

Their children were hot and hungry and getting a little cranky so they wanted to take them downstairs and move towards leaving. KBug wanted to see the other half of the third floor. So they went down, and we kept looking.

 

Eventually we found them downstairs. The Ex Husband had taken their son to see the stingrays and such, and KBug wanted to see them again so in we went. Apparently we had missed a lower level while we were in there earlier, so down to the lower level we went. It worked out awesome for me because they had more jellyfish down there and that's my favorite exhibit at aquariums, and KBug was able to experience a few more touch tanks.

 

After that we hit up the gift shop, made our purchases and left the aquarium. At that point they suggested lunch, so we headed out on a short walk to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. Mr. Boston had been dying to take me to Faneuil Hall all week and figured it would be the easiest way for everyone to get what they wanted to eat and then find a place outside to sit.

 

They decided that wasn't going to work for them and wanted a restaurant to sit down at. They chose Cheers. We found it, we sat, and it was pretty awkward. The Ex Husband made some attempt to talk to KBug but wasn't all that successful. When the only topics you have to talk about are school, fishing, pigs and chickens you aren't going to hold the interest of a 7-year-old for very long. And talking about fishing wasn't the best idea because it only reminded her that she would get to go fishing that evening when we went back to the campgrounds.

 

After everyone had eaten and we paid our separate checks, KBug hopped up and told her father she was ready to leave now so she could go fishing at the campground. Mr. Boston and I hadn't made any mention of leaving to her, so I was surprised when she said she was ready to go. Children know when they've reached their limits, and I guess that was her way of saying she had reached hers and didn't want to spend anymore time with him.

 

So we left the restaurant, she gave him something resembling a hug and we were on our way.

 

She made no mention of seeing him again for the duration of our trip. I had her write about something we did every day in a notebook, with a space for writing and a space for pictures, so she can have it to remember our summer, and he didn't even make it into that. I think that speaks volumes.

 

Anyways. That was our day at the New England Aquarium. And, like every other day, of course I took an abundance of pictures.

 

Excited for the aquarium!

Stingray tank

I love her so much!

She pulled  Mr. Boston's hand and dragged him to almost every exhibit

 

Jellyfish!

More jellyfish!

Since being home, KBug has only mentioned seeing her father once, as she was looking at the aquarium pictures with Gramma. Gramma had asked her if anything else happened at the aquarium and she shrugged and said her Daddy was there. She then told Gramma he was boring. I think that about covers it.

 

If you haven't read about our previous Boston adventures, you can read all about the Museum of Science, the Children's Museum, 4th of July, and Canoe River Campground by following the links.

 

Next stop: Franklin Park Zoo

Canoe River Campground [Boston]

After our 4th of July adventures, we all slept soundly and slept in. Well Mr. Boston and I slept in until about 7:30. KBug slept until almost 9:30. It was pretty awesome except for the fact that she was sleeping and I couldn't fold laundry or pack anything until she woke up. All that meant was a late start to our camping adventure, but it all worked out in the end!

As soon as we decided we were going up to Boston for vacation, Mr. Boston got all excited. We had talked about going camping before and he thought we should go while we were up there. And he knew exactly where we could go camping and immediately set to booking us a site.

He chose a place called Canoe River Campground. When he was growing up his parents would take him and his 6 brothers to Canoe River to camp every summer. They would run and play, swim and fish and earn $.25 each time they filled up the firewood bins at the front of the grounds! He loved it as a kid and wanted so badly to take us there for a couple of nights.

So it was set. We reserved our site and purchased all of the necessary items for camping. Like a tent. And fishing poles for Mr. Boston and KBug.

We finally made it to the campgrounds around noon and checked in. Once we were all checked in, we drove around, located our site and pitched our tent! We were ready to go. Even KBug was having a blast and we hadn't even done anything yet! She loved the site because we had our own picnic table, a giant rock for her to sit on and a small shaded area which she named her "Little Shady Spot".

KBug's side of the tent had a corner for her puppy and his kennel

Our giant rock

After we assembled the tent!

KBug made a dragonfly friend!

After organizing our site, unloading the suitcase from the car and allowing enough time for KBug to set up "her side" of the tent, it was crazy hot and time for a swim! So off to the pool we went! KBug initially wanted to swim in the pond, but decided against it when she saw how yucky it looked and read the sign that said she wasn't allowed to. The pool area was great. Conveniently located by the snack bar, with a kids pool that only went up to 3 feet and an adult pool that went up to 10ft. KBug wanted to go in the big pool, but was careful to stay where she felt safe in the more shallow end. Mr. Boston and I had a great time chasing her around again, but it got difficult when the pool got really crowded so we headed back to the site to grab the fishing poles!

 

Once we had the poles and bait, we found a bench to sit on so KBug and Mr. Boston could fish. I've never been a big fan of fishing, I usually find it boring, but it was really fun with these two! KBug had a blast with the new Princess fishing rod we bought her and got so excited when she almost caught a turtle. But the turtle and the fish were smart and knew how to steal the worms without getting caught.

That evening we were joined by one of Mr. Boston's brothers and his family. We had met them briefly earlier in the week but I was able to get to know them a little more and KBug got to spend time with their almost 4-year-old son! He is seriously one of the most adorable little boys I have ever met and he adored KBug from the start! Being the big girl that she is, KBug played with him but wasn't so sure about him walking around saying she was his wife and telling everyone he loved her...

The best part of the day, though? BINGO! KBug has played variations of BINGO at school, but never real BINGO so she was excited to see how it worked. I was kind of worried that she would find it boring but she got so competitive and had a wonderful time finding the numbers on all of our cards. It was awesome to see her having so much fun, and she was thrilled to be chosen to pick the winning raffle ticket!

After our long day, we headed back to the site about 9:30. We put our pajamas on, crawled in and crashed. KBug was out pretty quickly and she was out like a light! She'd had a very busy day and was excited to go to the New England Aquarium the next morning!

At that point, I hadn't told her yet that her father was meeting us at the aquarium...