boston adventures: duck tours and cambridge

We had lots of plans for our first full day in Boston. Because when you're in Boston you have to make the most of it, right?! The morning started with a cruise around the city (and on the Charles River!) on the Duck Tours. (Cue a laugh from Hannah at the phrase, Duck Tours.)

All these kids are a part of Community Boating, a sailing program for kids. The coolest part (our tour guide explained) is that the fees are all income based. What a fun (and affordable!) way to spend the Summer. 

Here's a short clip from the ride. The kids were "quacking" at us to "quack" back.

Boston College Crew Team (I feel the need to make a "Winklevoss" reference here. Except they were on the Harvard Crew Team. Nevermind.)

Charles River Bridge

Between the Duck Tours and Cambrige we did a tour at Fenway, but I'll get to that later. On to Cambridge ... ! We stopped for lunch in Harvard Square at Flat Patties. They have gourmet burgers and they're so delicious! I highly recommend it. 

As we were strolling the streets of Cambridge, I saw this church from afar and I thought, That looks like an LDS church! Not only is it an LDS church building, but it's the meeting house my father-in-law attended as a kid and the meeting house my mom attended when she housesat in Boston for my aunt and uncle. Pretty neat. 

Thanks to a tip from my mom, we were able to check out the house of the American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, which is just down the street from the Harvard campus. I'm a sucker for historic homes (especially those belonging to famous authors...) and this one was no different. 

  

Not only did Longfellow live here, but Washington stayed here for a time as well! I couldn't believe that I was walking in the footsteps of two personal heroes of mine. 

How gorgeous is this home?

I love those turquoise goblets.

In Longfellow's bedroom there's a portrait of his wife. Tragically, despite his best attempts to save her, she passed away prematurely from burns sustained in a fire that caught her dress while she was creating a wax seal on an envelope. His grief is profoundly expressed in a sonnet, too personal to be published in his own lifetime, "The Cross of Snow." While we were in their bedroom, gazing up at her portrait, our guide recited this poem. Listening, I felt chills run up and down my spine. 

After the tour, we walked over to Harvard's campus ... 

"Open ye the gates that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in."

With all of it's New England charm, Harvard was just how I imagined it to be! The buildings are old and so beautiful. I can't begin to imagine the inspiration students must feel while studying here. Speaking of students, one (fellow) tourist confused us for students! I'll assume it's because we looked like we fit right in, and not because we both look no older than twenty one and were carrying backpacks.