Massachusetts Trip

Mid May my mom and I went to Bolton, Massachusetts for a shower for Ruth, my brother's fiancée. We flew into Boston on a Friday afternoon and headed to Boston Commons to do a little sightseeing. We did a guided tour of part of the Freedom Trail and then went to Union Oyster House for dinner.
The guided tour was good. The downside was you didn't see the last part of the Freedom Trail which included the Old North Church which I really wanted to see. The upside was I think we got a lot more out of the part that we did see than we would have if we'd done the tour ourselves. Our tour guide was quite the character and she had lots of great stories about each site and about the people involved in the Revolutionary War.

Park Street Church

Old State House

Benjamin Franklin statue on the grounds of the original Boston Latin School

Granary Burying Ground

John Hancock's tomb

Paul Revere's grave.

Samuel Adams' grave.

A lot of the tombs had a version of this image on them. It's quite a creepy image so when I got home I had to look up why in the world it was on the tombs. This is what I learned from the freedom trail's website:

"Puritan churches did not believe in religious icons or imagery, so the people of Boston used tombstones as an outlet for artistic expression of their beliefs about the afterlife. One of the most popular motifs was the "Soul Effigy," a skull or "death’s head" with a wing on each side that was a representation of the soul flying to heaven after death. Elaborate scroll work, poetic epitaphs, and depictions of the Grim Reaper and Father Time also adorn many headstones. "

Site of the Boston Massacre

Union Oyster House is the oldest restaurant in continuous service in the US. We had the she crab soup and crab cakes. It as all good but the crab cakes were amazing!
My brother and Ruth got into town that night and Ben came and stayed with us at the hotel. I only get to see him 2-3 times a year so this was a fun bonus visit!
Saturday morning we went to a reservoir and enjoyed the beautiful views and beautiful weather. 

We then went to Legal Seafoods for lunch. It was SO good! I once again had crab cakes and there was so much crab the crab cakes didn't really stick together!

We went back to the hotel and got ready for the shower and then went to Ruth's parent's house to do some cake tasting...Yummmm!

We then headed over to the shower. Ruth's mom and sister threw the shower and they did a great job. It was very nice and so many fun little details!

With Ruth and her mom

A bomb for Ruth to sit on...it has to do with one of Ruth's favorite stories that her Grandfather told. Such as sweet idea and her dad made it!

We headed back to Charlotte (and then Columbia) on Sunday. We had such a great time and I'm so thankful that my in-laws were able to come help Paul with the kiddos...I know he appreciated having extra hands!
The girls were a little sad that they couldn't go with us to Massachusetts but they're counting down the days until the wedding!