Castle Island Boston MA

In our attempts to find the ocean near our new house, we made plans to meet a friend at Castle Island in Boston.

The beach has free parking, paved walking trails and historical sites to wander through.  The kids love the playground.

The water is warm since it's in the harbor and was perfect on the hot day.  After swimming, we stopped and grabbed some snacks from Sullivans. There is literally nothing better than a lobster roll on the beach in the middle of the summer and Sullivan's rolls are extra good. 

 

A quick trip to the ice cream truck rounded out our perfect summer day!

Castle Island is located at 2010 William J Day Blvd, Boston, MA 02127.

xo, Heather

Radisson Inn Charlestown MA

Emma has been obsessed with the American Revolution after learning about it in school this year so we opted for a girls' weekend in Boston.  (Read all about it here!)

I knew I wanted to spend the night with her and really make it special. We booked a night at the Radisson Inn in Charlestown, right next to the water.

Our room wasn't even really a room, it wa sa small suite, complete with a kitchen and living room.  The bedroom offered a King sized bed, while the living room had a pull out sofa.

Other than the kitchen, Emmalee's favorite part was the huge mirror and vanity counter located outside of the toilet and shower room. When your girl is obsessed with make up, this is a slice of heaven.

The Radisson offered a complimentary, covid-safe grab and go breakfast that was perfect for tossing in our bags as we headed out for our adventures. 

The hotel was clean and Covid-safe, with policies being enforced to keep guests healthy. It's location was perfect for our walk through the city and she's already asking when we can go back again!

xo, Heather

The Freedom Trail Boston

After spending this school year learning about the American Revolution, my 9 year old was so excited about the history of our state. I decided a girls weekend in Boston, with a walk down the Freedom Trail would be perfect for the two of us. 

I vetted hotels and settled on the Raddison Inn in Charlestown.  I liked their policies with social distancing and you can read all about our overnight here. We checked in and went off to discover the Freedom Trail.

The trail itself is 2.5 miles of mostly flat terrain.  There are cobblestones which can make some of the walking a bit more difficult but there are very few hills.

A walk through the city would not be complete with out a stop in the Sephora at Fanueil Hall and Mike's Pastry in the North End. 

The trail itself walks you through the historical sites in Boston.

The trail itself starts in the Boston Commons, but head across the way to see the rest of the Commons; they are beautiful. I especially love the Make Way for Ducklings statue. 

Walking the trail itself is free, but since you're walking through the city you can stop in an out of stores for shopping or food. We spent all day walking the trail, stopping for lemonade and pretzels in the common, lunch at Quincy Market and getting dinner at the Warren Tavern.  Staying overnight at the Radisson Inn made it extra special, but you could do it as a quick walk or spend the whole weekend doing it. 

I can't recommend the trail, and learning about our local history, enough.

xo, Heather

John Carver Inn Plymouth

We had such a great time at The Cape Codder, we decided to book a stay at the John Carver Inn in Plymouth for a quick trip! they have the best pool; smaller than The Cape Codder but perfect size for my two littles. And since it's the right in the center of Plymouth, it's right by everything I grew up loving. 

The hotel itself was offering great social distance policies, requiring mask wearing, limiting the amount of people in the pool, and contactless check in.

Additionally, the hotel scaled back immensely on their amenities.  No single serve items other than toiletries, so that things are not left in the room after check out, however you could call and request any of them. We felt safe the whole time we were there and are excited to book again.

xo, Heather

Bowlaway Needham Ma

Staying socially distant is super important to us.  Yes, we stay busy but we are always masked and looking for companies and places that take it as seriously as we do. 

Emmalee has been itching to bowl and after a lengthy Google search, we found the Needham Bowlaway.

It's a smaller, candle pin bowling alley that has less than 10 lanes. It's pretty hidden, in an underground location but the kids just loved it. To help with social distancing, you have to reserve your lane in advance and prepay over the phone so when you come in all you need is to grab your shoes and get situated!

While there, only one other family was there and they were 4 rows away. 

Finding great socially distant outings is amazing, but supporting smaller business is just as great.  The kids had an amazing time and we'll be heading back for more bowling on the next rainy day!

The Needham Bowlaway can be found at 16 Chestnut St in Needham. It's $30 per lane per hour with a max of 4 players right now(for distancing) and shoe rentals are $3 a piece. 

xo, Heather

Cochituate State Park, Natick

I haven't found an ocean "close enough" to our new house, but I am so happy to report, we found a beach! It's a lake but still...

Cochituate State Park in Natick is absolutely perfect for us! It's a State Park so our State Parking Pass gets us in. 

There's a sandy beach, trees to put your chair under, a bathroom building, places to grill, and sometimes even the ice cream man comes by!

It's not exactly the beach but it will work for us for now!

xo, Heather

Blueberries at Jane and Paul's Farm, Norfolk

Picking fresh fruit is a favorite activity of ours. Every Fall we go apple picking and every summer, we get as many blueberries as we can. 

This year, we found a new to us place, Jane and Paul's Farm in Norfolk. Again, social distancing is important to us and we wanted to find a place that took it seriously as well. Jane and Paul's Farm required masks and had sanitizer and rules for all. Prepaying for your basket to pick eliminates the need for extra hands touching the fruit. Additionally, not being allowed to eat the fruit while picking made it even safer for all.

Each kid got a $5 pint of blueberries and we spent roughly a half hour filling them up!

The blueberries were plump and delicious and still available to pick! Jane and Paul's Farm is located at 33 Fruit ST in Norfolk and open from 10-5 all week.

xo, Heather