Today we went to Lowell, Massachusetts and visited a couple of really neat museums about the industrial revolution and the Mill Girls who made a living at the mills in Lowell.

Then we went to the Munroe Tavern, where the British tended their wounded and prepared for battle during the Revolutionary War.

Also, I am incredibly irritated with my Sony camera.  It’s not a total surprise that it broke, since it is a few years old and I’ve traveled many places with it, but the timing is just so awful.

I’m really tired so that’s all for tonight…

Today was a busy day and, naturally, I don’t have enough time to blog about it sufficiently.  We began the day by going to John F. Kennedy Jr’s birthplace, which was neat in its own way.  Then we went to Dorchester heighs, where General Knox moved cannons from Fort Ticonderoga and frightened away the British soldiers.  Then we went to the New England Aquarium, which was an absolutely amazing aquarium, where we also saw an IMAX movie.  There are so many stories to tell, whenever I can get enough TIME to tell them!

I’ve had a WORLD of trouble with my Sony camera on this vacation but I think I will manage to have photos for you.  Meanwhile if anyone can arrange for me to get a free/low cost camera, it would be MUCH appreciated!!!

I have lived a remarkably video game free life.  Throughout my life, I’ve never owned a Nintendo, Sega, Playstation, XBox, or any other video game system.  Of course, I have owned many computers, and I’ve played lots of games on the computer.  Sadly, in my opinion, modern computer games are not nearly as good as the games that existed in the 90s.  But perhaps we will return to those good games one day!

My sister has the coolest elliptical thing.  It folds up into a very small space, and it is perfect for using while you are watching television.  It pulls the muscles in your arms and makes your legs work hard as well.  Of course the hardest part is actually using it.   It is quite easy to enjoy her couch and leave the exercise equipment laying on the other side of the room!

Today we visited the homes of John Adams (and later, John Quincy Adams).  Those two guys were brilliant.  They were both extraordinary lawyers who gave up a lucrative career in law for public service.  John Adams was a major player in the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  John Quincy Adams could read, write, and speak in six different languages (I think- it may have been more)- I know he knew English, Greek, Latin, French, Dutch, and I can’t remember what else.  Plus of course Abigail Adams was quite brilliant in her own way- running a farm and a household while raising her children, all during a war.

We also went to the Plymouth Plantation, where the Pilgrims first made a home.  That was neat, but it is owned and operated by a private company and it’s fairly tourist-y.

It’s been a crazy vacation but a lot of fun.  I’m sure the next week and a half will be exciting as well!

I miss getting in the pool.  I’ve only been away a few days and I miss it!  Swimming is like aquatic therapy for me!

I’ve actually thought about this.  Swimming would be much easier if I had my own pool, but those dinky backyard pools are not that good for laps or exercise.  If I had my own house (and an unlimited source of money!), I would install a swim spa or a rehab pools, like the kind that creates a current (so you swim against the current, and you are essentially “swimming in place”).

In fact, if I had my own pool, I could just set a stereo on the pool deck and play music as loud as I want (well, at least until I disturb the neighbors!).  That would really help pass the time!

Today my sister had to go to work, so my parents and I travelled to Concord and Lexington, and visited some amazing battle sites and homes of classic authors.  We were unable to visit Louisa May Alcott’s home, but we were able to visit the classic Emerson home (where the Emerson family, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, lived from before the Revolutionary War until the mid 1900s).  We also visited the Old North Bridge in Concord, where the Patriot farmers first faced the great British army.  Then, in Lexington, we visited the Lexington Green.  We toured the Hancock-Cooke home and the Buckman Tavern, all major Revolutionary battle sites.  These experience are so humbling, to imagine the people who came before us!

I have oodles of photos to upload but I won’t have time to upload them tonight.  Tomorrow we are hoping to visit the home of John Adams and/or Plimouth Plantation, where the original pilgrims carved out a life.

Visiting other places (like Boston) makes me imagine what it would be like if I had enough money (and drive) to sell my services with trade show booths.  It’s easy enough to create simple banner stands, although a pipe and drape booth would look much more professional.  It would certainly be a lot of fun to travel, even as a part of my “job”.  But I’m sure it would also be challenging to travel all the time and never (or rarely) sleep at home.  I admit that I’m an odd duck and I love flying and sleeping in hotels, but even that can get old.  It would also be a lot of pressure to sell in order to pay the bills.  But it would certainly be different, and an adventure!

I promise I haven’t forgotten about you!  You wouldn’t believe how busy I have been though!  Yesterday we were fixing up my sister’s condo, and today we visited the Longfellow house, the Freedom Trail, Boston’s Chinatown district, and went to church with my sister.  It’s almost 10pm and I haven’t had time to even twitter, much less blog!

I have plenty of stories to tell and plenty of photos to display.  But I am also dog tired, and I will have to get up early tomorrow morning so I can drop my sister off at work.  I’m afraid the stories and photos will have to wait for another day, but stick around because they will be good!

It’s been a long day but my parents and I have arrived safely in Boston.  We flew from Kansas City to Milwaukee, and then from Milwaukee to Boston.  My sister picked us up at the airport and took us to McDonalds for dinner.  I got to see my first impressions of Boston, including the “Big Dig“, from her car.

I also got to see her condo for the first time.  I’m very impressed with it- it is a really neat loft-style one bedroom condo.  I’m so proud of her for buying this home.  It’s gorgeous.

Tonight we will sleep quite soundly, I’m sure!  I’m not sure what our schedule is for tomorrow, but rest assured I will twitter and post as much as I can!  I will also be taking lots of photos and lots of notes about what we are doing- I am sure I will have plenty of stories to share with you in the days and weeks to come!