Day Seven - July 24

Today it has been one week since we left home and we have been busy. We have traveled through seven states in as many days: Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts. So it was time to take a break and sleep in.

It's probably the right time to mention that the most teen friendly hotel we've stayed in is the Hyatt Place chain. We have stayed in these suite hotels in Atlanta, Sarasota and now on this trip in Medford, Massachusetts. Each room is quite large with a sectional sleeper sofa that seats all five of us comfortably. There is also a 42 inch plasma screen TV that swivels towards the two double beds or the sofa. The room is designed so that both the bedroom and sofa area can both see the TV, allowing Mom and Dad to relax on the beds, while the kids chill on the couch. There is a very easily accessible panel below the TV which allows almost any device to be hooked up to the TV. We were able to connect my son's new laptop to the TV and watch movies on Hulu, as well as view our pictures from my digital camera. Each room also has a nice kitchenette and a generous granite-like counter in a dressing area. The breakfast is adequate with breads, fruit salad, yogurt and cereal. For an extra charge you can order a cooked to order hot breakfast with eggs and breakfast meats. Hyatt seems to locate these hotels very near urban centers or airports, but in nice, safe, new neighborhoods. The price is pretty reasonable too, from $79 to $129 per night.

We slept in till noon then woke up and took a small portion of the Beantown Trolley Tour. It was a more traditional tour but did give us some insight on the architectural highlights of Boston. We rushed down to the Prudential Center to try to get some sightseeing in. We've noticed that things in Boston shut down pretty early - the last shuttle stops picking up people at 4 p.m. I wonder if this is a remnant of the Puritan principle of going to bed and rising early?


This worked out though, as we hopped on the tour, which was included in our GoBoston Card and then hopped off to take the T to the TD BankNorth Garden to take in the DEW Tour of Skateboarding. Today was "Andrew's Day" as he was really excited to go to this. The whole family went, even Mom. One thing we are learning during our 24 x 7 togetherness is that we really don't enjoy the same things, but we can learn to appreciate others' tastes, or at least tolerate them in the interest of family harmony. We have more or less graciously tolerated shopping at outlet malls, history tours and now skateboarding shows. I have to admit, it was pretty fun to watch the riders doing their tricks and the kids in the audience scrambling to get autographs of their favorite skateboarders. Thanks to Andrew, I now know who Ryan Sheckler is.

YouTube: Ryan Sheckler wins the Dew Tour in Boston