Category Archives: Boston local

Touring Boston – What to Know About Attending a Cape Code Factory Tour with Kids

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New England has this amazing brand of potato chips call Cape Cod Chips.  They are thin, crisp, salty and pretty much the best potato chips I have ever eaten in my life… and honestly until I tried them I was not a huge potato chip fan.  
Anyway one day I was looking at the back of the bag and saw that they offer factory tours and knew that before my husband finished his studies and we moved away from Boston that we needed to tour this factory… mostly because it sounded ridiculous … and awesome.   
Just after Labor Day we decided to take a short camping trip to Cape Cod and decided that one of the attractions we wanted to see along the way was our chip factory.  
We parked and walked up to the building, only to see signs that no photos were allowed to be taken inside the factory.  We snapped a few outside and then stepped into the building.  The tour was self guided and pretty much just a long walk down the hallway where you could stop and peek through different windows to see what was happening.  Next to each window there was short plaque describing what was happening and you could move as quickly or as slowly as you wanted. 
We watched all the potatoes being poured onto conveyor belts and men and women looking them over to remove bad potatoes.  Then we saw the potatoes getting cut up into little bits, followed by being soaked in oil and fried.  When they were done cooking we followed the belt to the next window to see them getting salted and more people picking out the less than perfect chips. 
Then we walked to the last window and watched the bags being made and the chips getting stuffed into them.  Our two year old son was mesmerized by this process and we stood at those windows for a long long time watching the bags being made by a robot and then filled with chips. 
The tour ended and you get a small sample bag of chips to enjoy as you walk through the gift shop. 

Summary: 

The tour is really short, honestly if you don’t stop at the window and watch and read you would be done with it five minutes.  For us, with our toddler this was great since we could stop at the places that he was interested and move on when he wasn’t.  It was also easy to leave at anytime.  The chips were delicious and my son loved it.  Months later he still likes telling people about going to the chip factory, which makes it a win in my book.  
Rating: ★★★★☆
Four Stars. The tour was great and I thought it was perfect length for a toddler, but there really wasn’t much to it.  Just a long narrow hallway with windows to peek into.  If you’re not really into machinery and watching things happening, it may not be worth your time to make the drive or the detour to the factory.

Have you been here before?  If so I’d love to know more about your experience and any tips or tricks you have in the comments section below. 
Cape Cod Chip Factory
100 Breed’s Hill Road
Hyannis, MA 02601

 Phone: 1-888-881-2447
 Website: http://www.capecodchips.com/about-us/factory-tour.html

Tour Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Self-guided tours are free. Closed Weekends and Holidays

Family Friendly Boston – What to Know About Boston University Pool (and its Awesomeness for Kids!)

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We’ve found swimming to be our go to activity in the winter since there are a whole bunch of indoor swimming pools around us.  Not too long ago a neighbor was celebrating a birthday and all the kids from our building were invited to a pool party at Boston University (BU).  Initially I was surprised at the venue since there is a pool on campus as well as a number of other closer pools.  That is I was surprised until we got there and discovered how incredible the Boston University pool is for kids!

Things to Note:

1) Pool
BU actually has a couple of different pools, but the one I thought was the most note worthy is the kid pool.

  • It’s in a separate room from the lap/lane pool
  • It has life guards
  • It has a long, zero depth ramp so children can slowly get into the water
  • It has a pool depth of 3-5 feet
  • It has a basket ball hoop & basket balls
  • It has small raised trampoline like sections under the water so children don’t have to swim clear to the walls to touch the ground
  • It has lots of floaty toys like pool noodles, boards, and water tubes
  • It has a lazy river
  • Warm water (about 85 degrees)
  • A 15 person hot tub

2) Changing Rooms
The Boston University Pool has family changing rooms!  These are amazing!  There is a set of 6 (if I remember correctly).  You can take your family in and lock the door. Inside each changing room is a toilet, sink, bench, a handful of lockers and a shower with a pull down shower head.  This made getting kids changed so much easier since I didn’t have to chase them around the locker room and keep them from running out of the shower and away or getting in anyone else’s space.

3) Price/Getting In
Unfortunately you have to know someone at BU to have access to their amazing pool.  If you can find a friend you can get in on a daily pass for $12/adult $8/child which gives you access to so much more than the pool.  (There is a climbing wall, gym equipment, dance classes etc.) Learn more about Guest Passes.

4) Getting There
The green line drops off right in front of BU, and there is also a parking garage behind the fitness center.

Summary and Rating  ★★★★☆

Four Stars. We thought this pool was amazing and for a family swim it’s perfect with warm water, leveled ramps, toys, a lazy river and family changing rooms.  The only down side I can see if that you have to know someone from BU to get in, there are no single day/single use passes otherwise, which is a complete bummer because the place is amazing.

Have you been here before?  If so I’d love to know more about your experience and any tips or tricks you have in the comments section below. 

Boston University Fitness and Recreation Center 
915 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215

Phone: 617.358.3740
Website: http://www.bu.edu/fitrec/

Hours: Vary

Touring Boston – What to Know About Mike’s Pastry (Delicious Eats)

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If you’re in Boston one food/place you absolutely must visit is Mike’s Pastry  for a cannoli.  Honestly before moving to Boston I don’t know if I had ever heard of a cannoli before and I had certainly never tried one, but whenever I asked anyone what I had to do in Boston the answer came back time and time again that I had to visit the North End to get a cannoli from Mike’s Pastries.

We went out on a Friday night in early fall and enjoyed a walk through the city before getting to Mike’s.  There were so many people milling about on the street and stopping in intersections to check maps among other ridiculousness.  I suspect it has lots to do with “the invasion” (what us Bostonians call all the student’s coming back after summer vacation).  There are hundreds of thousands of these students filling the city, and for the first couple of days many of them have their proud parents helping them settle in and touring the area… so yeah, things get a little bit busy.

I think that was part of the madness at the North End.  The line for Mike’s Pastries was out the door and around the side of the building, but the workers at that place have skills and move people through.  We waited only a few minutes before being directed to one of 8 lines in the store and we were quickly helped and on our way with two delicious cannolies.  I got the chocolate dipped (which was fantastic) and my husband got the moca, which was still good, but not as excellent as my chocolate one.

We ate in a little park with splashing fountains that kids were running through in the dark and since it was a nice night we decided to walk home. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Boston is a pretty fantastic city.  I ♥ Boston.

Things to Note:

1) It’s Cash Only, Cannoli’s are between $3.50-$4/piece.
2) Parking is a mess, the closest “T” stop is “Haymarket” so you’ll have to do a little bit of walking.
3) If there is a long line, don’t fret.  It moves really fast.
4) Know what you want before you get to the front of the line. This place moves “Soup Nazi” style.
5) Don’t plan on eating inside, there are only a handful of tables (maybe 8?) and on the weekend or during cold times they are going to be filled.
6) You can bring a stroller, but know things are tight and the shop is small.
7) There is a new Mike’s Pastries open in Harvard Square!

Summary and Rating ★★★★★

Five Stars.  We have really enjoyed embracing the hype about Mike’s Pastries and whenever we’re in the North End visiting Mike’s is a must.  It’s fun to be in the middle of something so fast paced and the cannoli’s are delicious.  If you visit in the summer there are a bunch of park like green spaces near Mike’s that offer a great place to sit down and enjoy you food and if you have children with you they can splash in one of Boston’s many splash pads.

Have you been here before?  If so I’d love to know more about your experience and any tips or tricks you have in the comments section below. 

Mike’s Pastry (North End)
300 Hanover Street
Boston, MA 02113 USA

Harvard Square
11 Dunster Street,
Cambridge, MA 02138

Phone: 617.742.3050
Website: https://www.mikespastry.com

Hours: Sun-Thurs 8AM-10PM; Fri & Sat 8AM-11:30PM

Touring Boston – What to Know About Attending a Fenway Park Tour

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I think my sister’s number one thing to see while visiting Boston was Fenway Park (My dad and his fanatical Red Sox fan status is to thank/blame for this) She really wanted to see a game but the playoffs were going on at the time.  (is that what they are called? I’m so not sporty… seems like baseball might have another name for it…) anyway since they are in the “playoffs” tickets are even more expensive than usual.  $120 for a third tier standing room only sections.  I don’t quite have that kind of money and I didn’t dare send Chan alone so we settled for a Fenway Park Stadium Tour, and we choose the right day to do it… kind of.

We walked to the Stadium, (though it’s also really close to the “T” if you want to take the subway), and then ended up walking around the whole stadium looking for gate D where the tour tickets were sold.  There was a reporter/camera man out front and when he saw us (mostly my sister, decked in her Sox apparel) he asked if he could talk to us about the team, but we declined knowing we would sound so silly and clueless since we’re not really that into sports – I wish my dad could have been there, it would have been his moment to shine.

Online they said the tour was handicap accessible, which I took to mean I would be fine bringing a stroller, but when were got there it seemed like that was going to mean we would have to go way out of the way and keep catching up with the tour guides, so we left the stroller with security and I hauled my fat baby around the park. Holy crap my son is heavy and giant!

The Red Sox were on the field practicing during out tour which was pretty sweet, I mean we didn’t get to go to a game but it still kinda felt like we were at one, especially ten minutes into our tour when they started blasting music through the stadium for the Sox to warm up to.  It was so loud it pretty much drown out our tour guide, but it made my sister and I dancey, and the tour started to feel like a party where we got to keep moving seats.  It was so loud our tour guide gave up his lecture for half of the tour and just led us over to the Green Monster (giant wall with a great view of the field) to watch batting practice.  I think someone from our group even caught a ball.

Things to Note:

1. Pricing
It’s fairly expensive at $18/person or $12/child/student.  You can buy you tickets online in advance and I think you can also get them at the ticket window when you get there.  My infant son (and kids two and under) are free.

2. Stroller Friendliness… not so much
They say that the tours are handicap accessible, so I’m sure in a pinch you could haul along a stroller, but most of the tour was walking up and down the bleachers and through different areas of the park.  I think you would end up going way out of your way to use the elevators and you would miss out on a lot of the tour.  I would suggest avoiding bring a stroller if possible.  Also, you can bring one to the stadium and leave it with security while you take your tour.

3.  Workout
You will be walking up lots of stairs, beware this could be considered a work out.

4.  You Don’t Get to Touch the Green or See the Dugouts. 🙁

Summary:
Even though we only got half the audio tour guided tour (due to the loud music the Red Sox were warming up to) we still really enjoyed it.  It was great being able to walk around the park, learn the history, see the sights you wouldn’t be able to if you were going to a game.  Most of all we enjoyed seeing the team warm up with the stadium to ourselves.

Rating: ★★★☆☆
Three stars.  We really liked the tour.  It was expensive and I did feel like we missed out on a bit of the information.  It would have been nice to be able to get around a little more easily, but all in all we enjoyed being able to see the team and it was great to be able to see so many parts of the historical stadium.

Have you been here before?  If so I’d love to know more about your experience and any tips or tricks you have in the comments section below. 

Fenway Park
4 Yawkey Way
Boston, MA 02215

Phone: 877.733.7699
Website:
http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/ballpark/tour.jsp

Tour Schedule:

  • Hours of operation are 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. 
  • Last tour departs at 5 p.m. on non-game days. On game days the last tour departs three hours before game time. 
  • Available year-round. 
  • Public Tours depart at the top of each hour.

Family Friendly Boston – What to Know About Trick or Treating on Beacon Hill

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If you live in Boston with young children one Halloween must do it trick or treating on Beacon Hill.  Beacon Hill is a pretty amazing place to begin with but on Halloween night they block vehicle traffic on the streets and then let the party begin.  The streets and ally ways are decorated, tons of residents dress up or sit on their porches handing out candy and masses of children dressed in costumes flock the streets.

Things to Note: 

1) Start Time
Around 5 PM, when the sun is just starting to set.  If you get here too much earlier than this you can expect the residents to be unprepared to greet you and slightly annoyed that you’re started the festivities so early.

2) Getting There
Take the “T”.  The closest parking is probably at Boston Commons but on Halloween night there is no guarantee you’ll find a spot.  Both the “Park Street” and the “MGH” stops make for a very short walk to Beacon Hill.

3) Stroller Friendliness 
If you can avoid a stroller I would suggest it.  The Beacon Hill streets are really steep, many are paved in brick and hauling a stroller up and down across that bumpiness while navigating the crowds and keeping up with over excited trick or treaters can get a little crazy.  We brought a stroller the first year and I regretted every second of it, even with a 1.5 year old.

4) Bathrooms
Eek! Why is the potty such an issue with children?  Better go before you get started and be prepared to do a fair amount of out of the way walking to find a business that will let you use theirs.  There are a few restaurants lining Charles Street that you might be able to beg a bathroom stop from but we ended up walking clear to Massachusetts General Hospital when we needed to use the restroom…

5) Be Prepared for Lots of People and Lots of Fun
Many of the residents dress up, lots of houses are decorated and the streets are flooded with trick or treaters.  We go early and leave early, as our children are young, but at 6:30 it seems like the party is just getting started.  We loved seeing all the kids and all the fantastic costumes and we had so much fun enjoying the celebration with so many people.

Summary and Rating ★★★★★

Five Stars.  The trick or treating experience doesn’t get any better than Beacon Hill in my opinion. Seeing such beautiful homes and being able to enjoy the festivities with so many people was amazing.  I loved seeing all the cute kids in their costumes and the residents were so nice and fun, happily greeting the children, many of them dressed up themselves.  If you live in Boston this is on experience you’ve really got to try.

Have you been here before?  If so I’d love to know more about your experience and any tips or tricks you have in the comments section below. 

Beacon Hill Trick or Treating
Beacon Hill
Boston, MA 02114

Hours: 5PM-8PM October 31st