Category Archives: Boston Toddlers

7 Things You Need to Know About Visiting The Rhode Island Newport Mansions with Kids

Posted on by
Reply
If you live in the Boston area one thing you really have to see are the Rhode Island Newport Mansions.  It’s not to bad of a drive (2 hours from Boston) and the mansions are like nothing I’d ever seen before.

You can get tickets to see a whole bunch of mansions from the Preservation Society of Newport County but if you only have time to see one… or really the one you have to see is the Vanderbilt Summer Cottage.. which is about as far from a cottage as I can imagine.

The Vanderbilt mansion is huge and the Vanderbilt’s spared no expense when building it. They were part of New York’s elite Millionaire club and the home was built in the late 1800’s for a sweet $11 million.  We found out that a wall in one of the rooms was made of platinum,  the ceiling of the study had gold pressed over leather to give it a decorative texture of books and on the lower floor most of the rooms had rich gold and marble ornamentation.

I wish they would have allowed pictures inside because it was amazingly lavish.  At least I got some good ones of the outside and the incredible yard/lawn they had.  It was huge and went right to the cliffs edge, and was very very enviable.

After seeing the house we walked around the garden and finally ended our trip by walking along the Breakers cliff walk (thankfully most of it was fenced in).

Things to Note:

1) Price
The prices vary, but it’s a fairly expensive tour.  You can see 5 of the Newport mansions for $30/Adult, $11/children ages 6-17 (children under 6 are free)

To just see the Breakers $21/Adult, $7/children ages 6-17 (children under 6 are free)

2) Tour Options
At the Breakers you have the option of touring the place via audio tour.  There is an adult version and child version… personally I thought the child version was more entertaining, though you will learn slightly different things depending on what tour you listen to.

3) Stroller Friendliness
Zero amount stroller friendly.  They don’t even have a place for you to check a stroller should you bring one and instead ask you to leave it your car.  The reasoning being that they are abrasive and damaging to the historic surfaces.  :/  This was kind of lame since I ended up having to carry my giant two year old all around the place to make sure that he didn’t run under the velvet ropes to touch all the off limits things.

4) Child Friendliness
Children are welcome at the Newport Mansions, but if you have younger children you’ll need to keep a close eye on them since many parts of the mansion are only roped off by velvet ropes.  We went with a friend and she ended up having to chase her young daughter across those off limits sections…

5) Parking
There is free parking available right out side the front of the Breakers and most of the other mansion as easily within walking distance from there.

6) Green space
After you tour the mansions you’ll definitely want to tour the gardens and lawns, they are huge, amazing and a great place for kiddos to get some energy out after having to be hands off during the tour.

7) Photography
None of the mansions allow you to take pictures inside of them, but you can take all the pictures you want of the outsides and gardens.

8) Cliff Walk
There is an amazing cliff walk that runs along the backside of the mansions, most of it has bars preventing young ones from getting too near the cliffs and we really enjoyed the scenic view, but again you’ll want to keep a close eye on your tots.  Also the cliff walk is a couple of miles long, if you did happen to bring a stroller this is where you would want to use it.

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. 

Summary & Rating ★★★★☆

Four Stars.  Honestly I thought that being able to see and tour a mansion of this caliber was incredible, if only it wasn’t so dang expensive!  I found myself fascinated seeing the lavish decor used in something as trivial as a summer home… one that was only used for a handful of years and to be able to imagine what it would have been like to live such a life style.  I feel like the opportunities to see this kind of wealth are fairly limited and in my opinion it was totally worth experiencing.

Newport Mansions (The Breakers Mansion)
44 Ochre Point Avenue
Newport, RI 02840

Phone: 401-847-1000
Website: http://www.newportmansions.org/explore/the-breakers
Hours: Vary

Family Friendly Boston – What to Know About Setting Up a Fire Station Visit

Posted on by
Reply
One of my son’s favorite activities to date was a visit to our local fire station.  The Cambridge Fire Fighters are awesome and if your interested in a planning a similar activity all it took for us was a small group of friend who were interest in going and a phone call to the fire station.

When we got there they gave all the little kids plastic fire hats and called down a few of the fire fighters and had them dress up in all their gear for the kids.  I had to laugh at the announcement made over the PA when we enter that was something like “If you’ve been here less than 3 years suite up and come down,” which I read as “if you you’ve been here less than 3 years you’re at the bottom of the totem pole and you’ve got kiddies to entertain.” Whether that was true or not doesn’t really matter because the people that did come to talk to us were all amazing!

They were super friendly as they walked us over to the fire trucks and let the kids go wild climbing on the trucks.  The kids were allowed to push the buttons, sit in different seats, and pretend to drive the engine all while talking to the fire fighters.   The fire fighters were also super good sports about letting us take pictures with them.

Our trip ended when calls started coming in and soon both of the fire engines along with most of the fire fighters were gone, which seemed like a good point to wrap up our trip.

Things to Note:

1) Price
Free!  Fire fighters are awesome.

2) Setting up an appointment
Call the fire station and let them know you’re interested in coming.  We told them that we had a small group and set up a tentative date.  On that day they will have you call in an hour or so before your appointment to make sure that there haven’t been emergencies calling away the firefighters.  So keep in mind that your date will be semi tentative.

To Schedule a visit: Call Lieutenant Mike Hughes at 617-349-4153 or email him. Please give the following information: number of students/kids visiting; ages; what school or organization; contact person with phone number; the station you would like to visit, the day and time you would like to visit.

The day of your visit: Call 617-349-4900, their Emergency Communications Center, and ask for the station you will be visiting. When connected, double check that your visit is expected and confirm your time and number of visitors. Upon arrival, if the station is empty, that means the firefighters had an emergency run. Call 349-4900 again, tell them you are at the station for a visit and ask if they know how long before the firefighters return. You can then decide to wait or call and reschedule a visit.

If you need to cancel: Call 617-349-4900, their Emergency Communications Center, and ask for the station you were expected to visit. When transferred, tell them of your cancelation.

3) Things for the Kids
The fire fighters were amazingly nice and fun.  Each kid got to start the tour out with a fire fighter badge (sticker) and a fire fighter plastic hat, both of which were provide by the fire station.

4) Things you might end up doing
For us, and our group of 15 toddlers we ended up sticking close to the fire trucks.  The kids were mesmerized and perfectly happy just to be able to see real fire fighters and crawl around on the trucks.  I don’t know how long this would have lasted but we were there for a good half hour before both trucks got called away.

Summary & Rating ★★★★★

Five Stars.  How could I do any less?  This was a wonderful activity, my son adored it, it was educational, hands on, free and a lot of fun to be able to interact with the amazing people keeping us safe.  The only possible down side I can see is if your child was super excited about a potential trip and you had to change the date due to the firefighters being called away… which really can’t be helped.  In any case we loved this and will be doing it again… probably every year that we live here.

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

Cambridge Fire Department
(lots of locations) This is the main office
491 Broadway Cambridge MA 02138

Phone: 617.349.4900
Website: http://www.cambridgema.gov/cfd

Visiting Hours: They prefer morning hours during the weekday (Not Tuesday or Thursday mornings because they have inspections) If those times don’t work for you call and they will probably be willing to try to work something out with you.

Touring Boston – What to Know About Attending the Boston Symphony Orchestra

Posted on by
Reply
If you want to have an amazing musical experience you’ve got to check out the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall.  We went over Valentines Day last year and had a fantastic experience (and if your an MIT student and your interested in going get your tickets from the MIT Copy Tech, you get a card that allows you to buy tickets for only a few dollars a person… I can’t remember the price exactly but I want to say it was between $5-$10/person.  If your a student from another university I suspect there are similarly discounted tickets available to you.)

We walked to Symphony Hall and enjoyed walking around the hallways for a few minutes and learning more about the history before we settled into our seats.   The Hall itself has incredible marble statues and ornate gold work lines the top of the hall, and once the music started well it was breath taking.

We really enjoyed being able to have this experience and if you like classical music this is a must visit.

Things to Note:

1) Price
It varies depending on the event.  Some are even free.

2) Getting There
I would suggest public transportation but there are a few parking garages around the area you can use.  More information about parking for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

3) Children
Children over 5 years old are permitted to attend symphony events.  If you have children under 5 you’ll have to wait and attend one of their “Concerts for Very Young People” performances where young children not only get the hear fantastic music but they also have a chance to interact with the performers.

4) Attire
Semi formal is generally requested though there is no official dress code.

5) Arrival
Get there earlier enough to be seated before it starts.  If you’re late you’ll have to wait until the end of whatever piece is being played before the ushers will take you to your seat.

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. 

Summary & Rating ★★★★☆

Four Stars.  While this was a great experience for my husband and I it’s really not a very kid friendly activity. The hands on “Concerts for Very Young People” are great but they don’t happen super regularly.  In any case if your looking for a nice date night this might be just the thing.

Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall
301 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, MA 02115

Phone: 617-266-1492
Website: https://www.bso.org/

Touring Boston – The Go-getter’s Guide to the Garment District

Posted on by
Reply
Boston on the cheap.  So if you’re new to the area and like me married to a full time student chances are that money is tight.  One clothing option for the slightly more adventurous is a place called the Garment District.  This place has been around for thirty or so year and they have new and used clothing, mostly used.

There are two floors worth of clothing.  The top floor is where you’ll find some new stuff and used/vintage clothing that has been sorted by style (men, women, shirts, dresses, pants etc.)  I was able to by a really nice wrap dress there (Banana Republic Brand) that had been slightly used, still in great condition for about $10.

However the real adventure is the clothing by the pound area.  This takes place on the bottom level of the store and it’s a little bit of great deal madness.  It cost $1.50 a pound. I had seen it advertised and I was curious to see what it actually was.

I walked in and they handed me a clear plastic garbage bag a motioned to the mounds of clothing covering the floor.  It was a foot deep, wall to wall, carpet of clothes, there were no aisles and no order.  You had to walk across and into the clothing piles to reach things and then just rifle through it looking for something of interest to you.  

Tons of people just squatted down and started looking through the things around them.  It took a few minutes for me to come to terms with this madness, but I decided we had walked there and I should give it a fair try.  It was fun in a really weird way, I think a couple of my crazy cousins would have loved it, but my husband wasn’t ready to dive into this hipster dumpster life style so he checked out the sweaters upstairs until I was finished.

Things to note:

1)  The garment district is mostly used clothing
Some of it is sorted by kind and style, those pieces tend to me more expensive (a few dollars a piece) and then there is clothing by the pound where there is absolutely no order, but the clothing you find there is really inexpensive and there are still high quality brands and fashionable pieces in the clothing by the pound… you just have to sort to find them.

2) Half of this store is a costume store (Boston Costume)
This means you can also find a bunch of random things there and during the month of October the clothing by the pound section is closed and the upstairs regular clothing section is compressed so they can fit more costumes.

3) Clothing by the pound can be a great deal
I’ve found a number of high quality sweaters, there are often coats, and if you look hard enough you can find children’s clothing, which is really light = inexpensive.

4) Odd Hours
The hours seem to be on a collage timeline, they open at 11am-midnight, every day but Saturday.  Saturday they open at 9am.

Summary and Rating: ★★★☆☆

This place was very odd to me and it took some time for me to wrap my head around sorting through old clothing in piles on the floor.  With that said, I found some great deals and going through it with the mindset that it was part of the adventure made it fun.  To each their own.

If you’ve been to the Garment District I’d love to hear your thoughts and feelings about it.  Feel free to share them with me in the comments below.

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. 

Garment District

200 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139

Phone: 617.876.5230
Website: http://garmentdistrict.com/
Hours:
Sunday through Friday: 11am – 12am
Saturday: 9am – 12am

Touring Boston – The Unexpected Awesomeness of Candle Pin Bowling

Posted on by
Reply
Until I moved to Boston I didn’t know such a thing as Candle Pin Bowling existed, but I’m so glad we’ve discovered it!

Candle Pin bowling is similar to the usual ten pin bowling in the sense that your sending a ball down a lane to hit over pins, but the pins are tall and slender (hence the name candle pin) and the ball is also small, about the size of a grapefruit and much lighter than the ten pin bowling balls.  This makes it awesome for kids!  For once they can actually hold the ball without being toppled over by it!

However don’t think that just because the balls are lighter and that kids have a blast that you, as an adult, wont be challenged by this sport.  It’s surprisingly difficult to knock over those little pins with your little ball, and there are no perfect games in recorded history.

Wikipedia’s input on the subject – The main differences between candlepin bowling and the predominant ten-pin bowling style are that each player uses three balls per frame, the balls are much smaller (11.43 cm, or 4.5″ diameter) and do not have holes. Also, the downed pins (known as ‘wood’) are not cleared away between balls during a player’s turn and the pins are thinner, and thus harder to knock down. Because of these differences, scoring points is considerably more difficult than in ten-pin bowling, and the highest officially sanctioned score ever recorded is 245 out of a possible 300 points.

We went to the FlatBread Company/Sacco’s Bowl Haven for our bowling and enjoyed some wood fire pizza while we waited for a lane to open. We didn’t have a vehicle so it was nice to be able to reach this place by public transportation with only a little bit of walking.

As far as bowling went…  I loved it! I think it’s much more fun than regular bowling and much faster! You don’t have to wait for your ball to be returned every round or for the pins to be cleared each time. You just grab three light little balls and roll them down the lane as quickly as possible. The downed pins are helpful in knocking over some of the standing pins.

On the other hand keeping your own score on a piece of paper was a bit confusing initially.  I had the benefit of competing with two MIT students and they got it figured out pretty well. All in all we had a blast and I would highly recommend this to anyone visiting or living in New England.

Rating: 

★★★★★
Five Stars.  I like bowling, and I loved candle pin bowling.  Perfect for both kids and adults.

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. 

Sacco’s Bowl Haven / FlatBread Company (Candle Pin Bowling)
45 Day Street
Somerville, MA

Phone: 617.776.0552
Website: http://flatbreadcompany.com/FlatbreadDirectionsSomerville%20MA%202010.html 

OPEN 7 Days a Week
Baking Hours: 11:30AM -11:30PM
Sundays close at 10:30PM

Bowling Hours 9:00AM – Midnight
Sundays close at 10:30PM