Two If By Sea

So it's time for the annual Loughman family summer get-together, and this time instead of playing it safe and sticking to the familiar, we decided to branch out and visit the big city of Boston, home of Matt's big brother Greg.

My expectations for a vacation with a two-year-old are low, but so far I'd rate this trip a solid B-plus. There have been times Violet has understandably lost it, and other times where we've just decided to throw in the towel and call it a day, but on the whole she has been a trooper and we have really enjoyed exploring the city as a family.

The Redcoats Loughmans are coming!

After a rather uneventful flight (the only time Violet freaked out was when our DVD player ran out of juice - fortunately we had plenty of back-up videos on our phones), we hopped on the Boston train like pros and made our way to the rented condo. Considering I was braced for the worst (screaming child, dirty looks from passengers) when it came to the actual travel part of our itinerary, it was nice having it off the list, especially since Violet did such a great job. Then Sunday we packed our gear and set out for a Boston Harbor Islands tour. It was a hot, sunny day, which made being out on the breezy water just that much better.

Two if by sea...

The nice thing about having a local for a guide - I never would have put the Boston Harbor on the top of my sightseeing list, but it was so nice. A perfect, low-key way to start our vacation. We hung around, visited an old fort, watched a random vintage baseball game, dipped our toes in the frigid water, good times.

The family on Georges Island.

I want to go to there.

My happy family.

On the ferry, homeward bound. It takes a real man to carry around Minnie.

She finally conked out on the boat ride home.

After a long day at sea, we finally made it home. Because we hadn't walked nearly enough that day, we took a little pre-dinner jaunt to Jamaica Pond, just a few minutes from our place. In fact, this condo is in the perfect location - a quick walk to a park, restaurants, T stop, and an awesome playground with fountains and playmates. Oh, and it's in the same neighborhood as the Sam Adams Brewery, but we'll get to that later!

A pretty way to end the day.