Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Rediscovering the New England Aquarium and the Greenway

Summers mean lazy mornings. Summers mean afternoons at the lake. And Summer Wednesdays mean "Stay Home Day with Mommy!" On our first Wednesday we headed to Artisani Park and had a great lunch at Foundry on Elm in Somerville. Next, a return to the utter joy of Davis Farmland. It is so clean, so well run and presents two pleasures in one: a petting zoo and a sprinkler park. This Wednesday we trotted off to Boston. Eighteen dollars later we had parked right on the Harborwalk under Rowe's Wharf. (Make sure you get a coupon at the Aquarium.) We checked out the airplanes, the excitement of window washers (my kids don't get this thrill everyday!), tourists on Segways and boats. We hadn't been to the New England Aquarium in over a year. The secret on this hot day? Getting there at 9:30 a.m., before the crowds swarmed in. We started at the new "Touch Tank" where my sons were enthralled with feeling the slimy and elegant sting-rays and slithery tiny sharks. My three year old may have stayed there all day...though he was equally enamoured with the penguins. I preferred the outdoor, and also relatively new, Marine Mammal Center where we watched Northern Fur Seals clap and spin. After an hour indoors, checking out the feeding of sea turtles and holding starfish, we stepped right over to the Greenway. In the future we hope to take a Harbor Tour over to the Boston Harbor Islands. But for today my sons were grinning deliriously as they spun around on the Carousel. We had planned on trying out the Sprinkler park, but instead met my brother for lunch. It was too hot to spend time meandering through the North End. Instead, we had a mediocre lunch at Barking Crab, but my kids loved the atmosphere, right up against the Harbor and involving a trip over a bridge.

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