On our second day in Boston, began by exploring Boston Common! Established in 1634, Boston Common is America’s oldest public park. Puritan colonists purchased the land rights to the Common’s 44 acres from the first European settler of the area, Anglican minister William Blackstone. It continues to be one of the top tourist attractions in the city, there are so many fun things to do there!
We began with visiting the Boston Public Garden, and right at the entrance, we ran into these two beautiful Bernese Mountain Dogs, they sweet owner was trying to convince them it was time to go home, but they are putting up a stubborn fight. We got to play with them for quite a while, they were so sweet and docile, not to mention absolutely beautiful!
We made sure to stop at the Make Way for Ducklings statue and got a photo of Karin and all her little ducklings! They all sat on the ducklings according to age, they left the oldest spot open for Andrew who was on his mission in Albania. We have this exact same picture with my mom and her four little chickies when we were younger.
This adorable statue was placed in the Boston Public Gardnes to commemorate the classic 1941 children's book, Make Way for Ducklings. It's a sweet story of a mother and father mallard duck who are looking for a place to raise their 8 little ducklings, they eventually decide the island in the middle of the garden lagoon. The statues were placed there as a tribute to Robert McCloskey, whose story has made the Boston Public Garden familiar to children throughout the world.
Ricky is posing as the intimidating Daddy duck
Speaking of the garden lagoon, that is where we headed next, to take a relaxing ride on the beautiful swan boats, which are also featured in the book.
The Swan Boats are a fleet of pontoon pleasure boats which operate in a pond in the Public Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The Swan Boats have been in operation since 1877, and have since become a cultural icon for the city. Robert Paget first created the Swan Boats in the Public Garden in 1877, after seeing the opera Lohengrin. Inspired by the knight's gallant rescue of the damsel by riding a swan across the lake, Paget decided to capitalize on the recent popularity of the bicycle and combine the two, designing a two-pontooned boat with two wooden benches and a brass seat on top of a paddlebox concealed by a swan. The driver would sit inside the swan and pedal passengers around the pond.
Karin had brought her copy of Make Way for Ducklings and read the part about the swan boats while we gently glided through the water.
We sailed around the famous island the Mallard family choose as their new home in the book.
There are still plenty of ducklings still living on the island!
It's even home to a few turtles who we spotted sunning themselves in the hot afternoon sun.
The merchandise available at the swan boats small gift store was so adorable, I didn't purchase anything but took some photos to document how cute everything was.
Next we spent some time enjoying the gardens, the gardens are such a gorgeous, green oasis in the middle of the city. We found a fun playground the kids had a blast running around and playing on, Ricky and Karin treated us to some Italian ice from an adorable vender, I got watermelon flavor and it was so delicious. The adults sat in the shade while the kids played and it was such a wonderful afternoon, our time spent in the gardens was one of my favorite things from the trip!
Net up was the Frog Pond! The Boston Common Frog Pond sits at the heart of Boston Common, it's a reflecting pool in the spring and summer, an iceskating rink in the winter and a splash pool in the summer!
I couldn't wait to dip my feet in, it was such a hot day and we had been out in the sun for a few hours at this point! The water was so cool and refreshing and cooled me right off even though I only waded in up to my ankles.
There was an adorable little carousel next to the pond that a few of the boys were dying to ride, I also love to ride on carousels, so we all took turns riding! It was such a fun filled morning
As soon as the boys saw there was a kitty, they insisted that should be the one I ride and I definitely agreed with them!
Loved, loved, loved our time at Boston Common and the Boston Public Park! I could have easily spent the entire day there, but we had lots of other fun and exciting things to see!
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