A day in Boston

Old Jun 12th, 2016, 10:20 AM
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A day in Boston

Taking our 14 year old grandson to the Sox on Tuesday night, June 21. We would like to show him some of Boston during the day, also. Thinking of Freedom Trail, a fun place to eat, Swan Boats,etc. We will have time to tour/walk from 11 am to 6 pm. Suggestions, as well as where to park. thanks
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Old Jun 12th, 2016, 10:31 AM
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Where can we park for fenway? should we visit MIT first and then go to Fenway area? Is there any way to travel within the city with small dogs?
these are issues I forgot to mention above.
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Old Jun 12th, 2016, 10:34 AM
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Does the Freedom Trail plug into Fenway area?
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Old Jun 12th, 2016, 11:55 AM
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No dogs on public transportation, no dogs in restaurants, no dogs at Fenway Park. Don't bring the dog.

If you want to see MIT, go through there first.

Park the car in the Common Garage, walk the Freedom Trail to the North End, stopping for lunch either at Quincy Market or, for Italian, in the North End. When you get tired, take the Green Line T to Kenmore Square from Haymarket or take the Blue Line from Aquarium to Park Street and change to the Green Line there.

If this sounds like to too much walking, you can take a Trolley Tour from Aquarium that runs through much of Boston, and you can get on or off repeatedly.

I don't know whether the Duck Boats are running. They were closed down for a while this Spring. One of them killed a bicyclist and the driver and some of the other drivers had long strings of driving offenses.
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Old Jun 13th, 2016, 03:30 AM
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Generally good advice from Ack.

Quincy Market will be a good place to eat with a 14-year-old since it's informal and there are several choices for food. Walk around there and let him pick the place.

The Common Garage is as good a place as any to park (and then take the subway to the ballpark). You won't want to drive or park in the Fenway area on game days.
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Old Jun 13th, 2016, 04:22 AM
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You can bring pets on the T in off peak hours (google mbta and off-peak for more info). But on leash and not on seats.

Boston is acompact city and the walks suggested above are good ideas. Too bad you have to bring the car, but sometimes you can't avoid that. Boston.bestparking.com is one way to find parking spots & estimate costs in advance. Depending on your approach to the city you could leave the car in a T lot on the perimeter (e.g. Alewife).

I am not sure a 14 boy would enjoy the swan boats,but it depends on the kid, of course. They are charming but tame!

I'm a big fan of the Rose Kennedy Greenway which has a lot of variety in a small distance, watching the seals outside at the Aquarium, or even taking the T boat back & forth to Charlestown. Old Ironsides and the USS Cassin Young in the navy yard are a very interesting way to spend the day. Then you could climb the Bunker Hill Monument (sans dogs).
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Old Jun 13th, 2016, 05:11 AM
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I really don't think bringing the small dogs is a good idea because you have no place to leave them when you attend the baseball game. It's really no fun walking on crowded sidewalks, especially if it's hot, with the pups. And CharlotteK is right. You can bring dogs on the subway and buses.

Visit MIT first and then drive to Boston. The Prudential Center garage is a good spot to park for baseball games, but their deal involves parking there after 2 p.m. on game days. So the Boston Common Garage may be your best bet if you don't want to move the car during the day.

I like the idea of walking the Freedom Trail from the Common to the North End then walking around the harbor area and the Greenway.

The Duck Boats are running. And just to clarify, one hit a motorbike carrying two people, which was stopped in front of the duck boat at a stop light, not a bicycle.
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Old Jun 13th, 2016, 06:30 AM
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Yes, Freedom Trail good for Boston visitors...but one does tire so take it easy with breaks such as Quincy Market. With parking in Common Garage. May not make it all the way to Charlestown. Why MIT...just some buildings. And that's about all to see in one day with a Sox game that night. Forget the dog for goodness sake. But don't forget the hotdogs at Fenway.
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Old Jun 13th, 2016, 12:10 PM
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Don't understand what a 14 year old would find interesting about what one can see in passing at MIT. Maybe the museum. Other than that, it's a collection of not so interesting/impressive buildings, except for the whimsical Stata. You can't enter classrooms or labs, and it will be quiet (student-wise) at this time of year. If you have a car, do a drive-by on the way in or out of town.
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Old Jun 14th, 2016, 05:58 PM
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Grandson is driving this trip plan. Dogs are with us on cape cod for a week and cannot be left behind. I will drive the gs and his gf to the park and drop them off, hopefully, then go find a place to park with dogs and read while they enjoy the game. I realize this is less than optimal but it is what we must do in this case.
This boy asked to do three things- see the sox, visit MIT which is a dream of his to attend, and see the minutemen area( not sure where or what that is). He enjoyed school for the first time this year when he had a male teacher who inspired him to learn all about American History. Sorry I did not make some of these details clear earlier. We may have to forget the freedom trail.
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Old Jun 14th, 2016, 09:13 PM
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By the minuteman area, he probably means Concord and Lexington--Minuteman National Park. If you're driving up from the Cape, you could visit Lexington and Concord, then MIT, then the Sox game. There won't be enough time for the Freedom Trail though that is full of history as well.
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Old Jun 15th, 2016, 06:05 AM
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You can try to call about tours of MIT. They are geared toward potential students, walking through one of the very rudimentary, plywood dorm setups (for all that tuition $$$, surely they could give the students more comfortable dorms!)and some long, bare corridors of the classroom buildings. I went on one with a friend from another country who had looked forward to the tour as a highlight of his visit to Boston and, utterly bored, he couldn't wait to get away from the group once he understood what he wasn't going to be able to see (labs, etc).

You might have to find a café that allows animals if you intend to "park and read" with the dogs during the game, unless it is in the afternoon. If daytime, there is a portion of the Fenway, a grassy, flowered park area with benches, a couple of blocks from the ballpark. Parking around the ballpark is at a premium, very expensive on game days. I think there is a McDonald's across the street that has parking for customers; maybe you can stand there coffee/food in order to park and/or read close to the ballpark.
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Old Jun 15th, 2016, 10:54 AM
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The McDonald's and the Burger King on outer Boylston St. are long gone. All high-rise buildings now.

meribeth: how familiar are you with Boston? I've been trying to think of a good place for you to park during the game. If you could find metered parking on Boylston St. near the Prudential Center or on Newbury St., it would be ideal. You could park, feed the meter until 8 o'clock, take the pups for a walk, and get something to eat or snack on. And your grandson could walk to meet you there after the game. Better than parking in a garage.

Alternately, you could just drive to Brookline and find parking and hang out there before meeting up at a pre-arranged spot to pick up your gs.
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Old Jun 15th, 2016, 01:02 PM
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You are a nice grandparent. I just discovered a website bringFido.com (I have no proprietary interest in this site and don't even own a dog) which lists several Brookline restaurants that are dog-friendly. So you might head down that way with the dog during the game.

Or alternately, park at the Prudential or Boston Common, take the dog for a walk down Newbury St, Public Garden or Boston Common.

Perhaps drive through Lexington first - there is a Minuteman statue and some smaller historic houses. Lots of places for lunch in Lexington. Then head straight down Massachusetts Avenue (known locally as Mass Ave) thru Lexington, Arlington into Cambridge and drive by MIT. Stop if you want, but it is mostly a bunch of buildings. Tour if you have time.

Then continue into Boston. By then it is certainly after 2 PM and you can park at Prudential which has the best balance between convenience and cost for Red Sox games.

Not my idea of most interesting 1-day Boston itinerary - but you indicated grandson wants "Minuteman" stuff, MIT - and you have the dog to deal with. This is going to be a long, long day - no chance you could board the dogs for 1 day on the Cape?
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Old Jun 15th, 2016, 05:18 PM
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These two pups, 13, Miles and Levy, cocker spaniels, are our children. Hubby will not put them in boarding. At home , we have a dog sitter come to the house when we leave on a trip.
I really appreciate all of your ideas and concerns.
cw, I think your plan, minutemen at Lex/Concord, lunch there, then onto some form of visit to MIT, ending the day at Fenway, is right on the money for us.Where is Brookline? I was thinking I could head north again and find a safe place to park, then pick up "the boys" after the game or even maybe early.
Years ago, we took our own children to the hands on children's museum, but, no, I am not familiar with Boston, but have several good maps in hand.
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Old Jun 15th, 2016, 07:02 PM
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My first choice for you would be to park in Back Bay where gs could walk to meet you after the game. There is a garage on Dalton St. It is across from the Sheraton and right off of Boylston St. You could park and walk towards Fenway with gs. That way he could find you after the game. The garage is about a 15 minute walk and there are many others walking to the game so it is safe. I think evening cost is $18 after 5.

Parking right near Fenway is around $55 according to the sign I saw tonight on my way home. That was in the Target garage on Van Ness St. But you run into lots of after game traffic getting out.

Brookline is west of Fenway on Beacon St. Their main business area is Coolidge Corner where Beacon meets Harvard St. It's a little more than a mile from Fenway. There is a lot of metered street parking in the area. Do watch the meters because the meter police are vigilant. It's a very safe area. But you would have to find a meeting place not too close to the park. I'm glad you have some good maps.

I'll keep thinking about this. You're a terrific grandparent!

Oh, and if you go to Concord, the Minuteman Visitor Center on Rt. 2A is worth stopping at to see the movie about the battle road. It's really well done. The only other stop you need to make is the North Bridge. The rest of Concord and Lexington is interesting but for your day, you can drive through.
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Old Jun 16th, 2016, 01:19 AM
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"Several good maps" are still going to make logistics of driving within Boston challenging. How far can the dogs walk?

You have no idea how awful traffic right around Fenway will be starting about 2 hours prior to game and for about 90 minutes after. You do not want to drive there. "I will drop GS off at Park" is not as simple as it sounds. It will be combination of rush hour traffic and game day traffic. Gridlock.

I am not familiar with the Dalton St garage - but that area is a good mile from Fenway. Prudential is a little less, but still a hike.

How street and crowd savvy is GS? Could he take MBTA alone to/from game to meet you someplace?

Trying to help and am very familiar with Fenway area - having lived there and also attending several games/year. I am trying to avoid your getting into horrific traffic or worrying about GS getting to game or worrying about not finding him after game while meeting needs of the dogs.

You mention hubby will not leave/board dogs. Where is he in this logistical plan? Is he going to game? Staying on Cape? At home? Knowing his whereabouts might help me come up with a plan that will work.
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Old Jun 16th, 2016, 05:13 AM
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Gail, the garage on Dalton St. is on top of the Summer Shack, slightly closer to Fenway Park than the Prudential Center garage. I've left that garage at the same time as a game was getting out, and while it was busy, it was a 10 minute wait, not longer, so not bad. The official name of the garage is the Hynes Auditorium Garage run by Pilgrim Parking at 50 Dalton St.

Then they can exit right coming out of the garage, right on Huntington (stay in right lane), then take the right ramp up to Mass. Ave. and make a left and go straight to 93 South.

I didn't suggest the subway since it is so packed after the game and it would seem confusing for first time users.

Google maps puts the walk at .6 miles and 13 minutes. It may be slightly longer, depending on what gate the kids enter the Park. There are also loads of pedicabs at the corner by the garage, which skirt the traffic and get you to and from the park quickly.
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Old Jun 16th, 2016, 09:02 AM
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my hubby- GP- is taking Tyler to the game. He can walk about a 1/2 mile due to leg problems.I will have the car and we all communicate via text. Tyler is smart and can figure things out. Keep thinking and so many thanks to you all.
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Old Jun 16th, 2016, 09:02 AM
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Dogs can walk at least a mile.
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