travelsponzfamilyof5
Travels with the Sponzilli Family
Are we there yet?
11 posts
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
Last Seen Blogs
unclehokage
Uncle Hokage's Place
stayinurlay-blog
Mochi Monster
fandom-nursery
Fandom Agere Posting
unfoldedbysurprise
Unfolded By Surprise
bodytmi
Broken Body
Text
Boston in 4 days
My husband and I took a trip to Boston for our 15th wedding anniversary in September 2016. We went without kids, which of course made it easier, but I think it can be done with a kid or two. I would recommend older kids, maybe 10 and up. There is a lot of history involved and some interest in early America would help! I planned a short trip to see some highlights in Boston. After researching areas to stay I settled on the North End, or “Little Italy”. First, it is near many of the sights we’d like to see. Second, it is a very interesting and pretty area to stay in. Third, we are surrounded by Italian restaurants and bakeries!
Day 1-
We flew into Boston, and took an Uber to the North End where we are rented an apartment. There are many hotels in the area but we found that an apartment was less money and more convenient for us. We were right in the middle of Little Italy and just a block from the historic Old North Church, as well as many other sights.
The Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile trail with 16 Revolutionary war sights, is what we walked around the last couple days. First, we walked over to the Paul Revere mall, which is right behind the Old North Church. The highlight is the Paul Revere statue, but it is situated within a stone courtyard with a fountain and other interesting facts about the North End. The church is a beautiful 18th century church and is Boston’s oldest surviving church. This is where Paul Revere lit the lanterns on the top of the church to signal the British are coming. It is a big tourist attraction with people going in and out. The surrounding neighborhood have cafes, restaurant, gift shops, etc. A very quaint “little” neighborhood that takes you right back to the 18th century. Right up the street from the church is the Copp’s Hill Burying ground. This is the second oldest cemetery in Boston. The graves are dated from the 1600’s thru the late 1800’s. An interesting place to walk around. In the evening we walked over to the Boston harbor walkway, not more than a 10 minute walk. We ate at The Boston Sail Loft, and had beer and a Lobster Roll. The harbor is filled with boats, and it a nice place to sit in the evenings. We were able to do much sightseeing the day we arrived, thanks in part to where we were staying right in the middle of it.
Day 2-
We started our day at a small cafe across from the Old North Church, which is right in front of you considering the streets are very narrow! Then we walked a couple blocks to Paul Revere’s house. This house is the oldest building in downtown Boston. He and his family lived here in the years of 1770-1800. You can walk through the house on your own, with guides placed in rooms to answer questions. Then we continued on the Freedom trail (which is marked on the sidewalk, but a bit hard to follow without a map!) to Faneuil Hall. Faneuil Hall was a good 10 minute walk from the Paul Revere house. This Hall is currently the Government center in Boston, and has been known as a meeting hall and marketplace since 1743. There are several tours you can go on that start here, as well as a museum and marketplace. We took a guided walking tour which took us by several historical landmarks: Old South Meeting Hall and the Old State House. Most of the tour was stopping at certain places in the downtown and hearing a story of what happened there. One of them being the Boston Massacre. It was an hour long tour, not too long we thought.
Continuing on…we kept on the Freedom trail to Granary Cemetery, which is the oldest cemetery in Boston. This is next to Kings Chapel, which we did not go into because of a service being held. The Granary cemetery is home to many famous people such as: Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin’s parents, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Peter Faneuil.
A little further up we come to Boston Commons, a big park with a pond and picnic areas. The Massachusetts State House is located here as well. While we were there a big event was being held so it was massively crowded. We just walked around and over to Boston Public Gardens right next door. This park is beautiful with its paths by the lake. It is home to the famous Little Duckling statue and the Swan boats. Also many pretty gardens along the way.
We walked back to the North End for dinner. We checked out the much recommended Mike’s Pastry! A long day of walking but we saw so much in one day.
Day 3-
Today we off to cross the harbor over to Charlestown. We took the Charlestown Inner Harbor Ferry at the Boston Harbor. It is a also a good way to get on the water for some sightseeing. The ride is only 15-20 or so, but I cheap way to get around. The ferry brings us right to the Navy Yard where we will see the Navy Yard museum and U.S.S Constitution or “Old Ironsides” in the dry dock.
We then walked over to the Bunker Hill monument, a short walk nearby. On the way there you walk through a colorful neighborhood of houses up to the hill. The Bunker Hill Monument is quite impressive! There are 294 stairs straight up once inside the monument. It is quite steep and a workout to get to the top! Be warned! At the top is a small area to look out over the area and to the harbor. There is small museum right next to it as well.
Walking back down the hill we had lunch at The Warren Tavern. This is the most historic tavern in America, and was visited often by George Washington and Paul Revere. it was built in 1780 and the first building built after Charlestown was taken by the British.
After lunch we decided to take an Uber to Salem, Massachusetts. This was an interest to me especially since I’ve read quite a bit about the Salem Witch Trials. The Uber ride over was about 30 minutes. We went to the Salem Witch Museum and saw the Trials presentation. This includes sets showing the story of the Witch trials in 1692. I thought it was the extra 30 minute trip over to Salem. We also went over to the cemetery in downtown Salem that honors the 18 people who were put to death for being told they were guilty of witchcraft.
We walked a little through downtown Salem with its shops and restaurants. The train station wasn’t too far so we took that back to Boston.
Day 4-
Our last day of trip! We stayed in Little Italy today. We had been inside the North Church but we have not been on a tour. The tour includes going up to the bell tower of the old church and down below into the crypts. The staircase going up is the same one Paul Revere ran up to light the lanterns to signal the British are coming. We also saw the Bell system they used to use, and still do. It is several ropes that are connected to the bells up on the top of the church. The guide also explained about the history of the church and how the bell playing was learned and used. Next, we journeyed down to the basement or the crypts of the church. From 1732 to 1860 the church used the space in its church to bury the congregants of the church. It has 37 brick vaults that can accommodate 20-40 coffins. We enjoyed this 30-40 minute tour of the parts of the church most people do not see! Very much recommended…
We saw a lot of history in 4 days. We didn’t see the whole city of course, but we did see some of the most popular and historic for sure. We would stay in the North End if we visit again. Such a nice area and close to everything!
1 note
·
View note
Text
Boston in 4 days
My husband and I took a trip to Boston for our 15th wedding anniversary in September 2016. We went without kids, which of course made it easier, but I think it can be done with a kid or two. I would recommend older kids, maybe 10 and up. There is a lot of history involved and some interest in early America would help! I planned a short trip to see some highlights in Boston. After researching areas to stay I settled on the North End, or “Little Italy”. First, it is near many of the sights we’d like to see. Second, it is a very interesting and pretty area to stay in. Third, we are surrounded by Italian restaurants and bakeries!
Day 1-
We flew into Boston, and took an Uber to the North End where we are rented an apartment. There are many hotels in the area but we found that an apartment was less money and more convenient for us. We were right in the middle of Little Italy and just a block from the historic Old North Church, as well as many other sights.
The Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile trail with 16 Revolutionary war sights, is what we walked around the last couple days. First, we walked over to the Paul Revere mall, which is right behind the Old North Church. The highlight is the Paul Revere statue, but it is situated within a stone courtyard with a fountain and other interesting facts about the North End. The church is a beautiful 18th century church and is Boston’s oldest surviving church. This is where Paul Revere lit the lanterns on the top of the church to signal the British are coming. It is a big tourist attraction with people going in and out. The surrounding neighborhood have cafes, restaurant, gift shops, etc. A very quaint “little” neighborhood that takes you right back to the 18th century. Right up the street from the church is the Copp’s Hill Burying ground. This is the second oldest cemetery in Boston. The graves are dated from the 1600’s thru the late 1800’s. An interesting place to walk around. In the evening we walked over to the Boston harbor walkway, not more than a 10 minute walk. We ate at The Boston Sail Loft, and had beer and a Lobster Roll. The harbor is filled with boats, and it a nice place to sit in the evenings. We were able to do much sightseeing the day we arrived, thanks in part to where we were staying right in the middle of it.
Day 2-
We started our day at a small cafe across from the Old North Church, which is right in front of you considering the streets are very narrow! Then we walked a couple blocks to Paul Revere’s house. This house is the oldest building in downtown Boston. He and his family lived here in the years of 1770-1800. You can walk through the house on your own, with guides placed in rooms to answer questions. Then we continued on the Freedom trail (which is marked on the sidewalk, but a bit hard to follow without a map!) to Faneuil Hall. Faneuil Hall was a good 10 minute walk from the Paul Revere house. This Hall is currently the Government center in Boston, and has been known as a meeting hall and marketplace since 1743. There are several tours you can go on that start here, as well as a museum and marketplace. We took a guided walking tour which took us by several historical landmarks: Old South Meeting Hall and the Old State House. Most of the tour was stopping at certain places in the downtown and hearing a story of what happened there. One of them being the Boston Massacre. It was an hour long tour, not too long we thought.
Continuing on…we kept on the Freedom trail to Granary Cemetery, which is the oldest cemetery in Boston. This is next to Kings Chapel, which we did not go into because of a service being held. The Granary cemetery is home to many famous people such as: Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin’s parents, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Peter Faneuil.
A little further up we come to Boston Commons, a big park with a pond and picnic areas. The Massachusetts State House is located here as well. While we were there a big event was being held so it was massively crowded. We just walked around and over to Boston Public Gardens right next door. This park is beautiful with its paths by the lake. It is home to the famous Little Duckling statue and the Swan boats. Also many pretty gardens along the way.
We walked back to the North End for dinner. We checked out the much recommended Mike’s Pastry! A long day of walking but we saw so much in one day.
Day 3-
Today we off to cross the harbor over to Charlestown. We took the Charlestown Inner Harbor Ferry at the Boston Harbor. It is a also a good way to get on the water for some sightseeing. The ride is only 15-20 or so, but I cheap way to get around. The ferry brings us right to the Navy Yard where we will see the Navy Yard museum and U.S.S Constitution or “Old Ironsides” in the dry dock.
We then walked over to the Bunker Hill monument, a short walk nearby. On the way there you walk through a colorful neighborhood of houses up to the hill. The Bunker Hill Monument is quite impressive! There are 294 stairs straight up once inside the monument. It is quite steep and a workout to get to the top! Be warned! At the top is a small area to look out over the area and to the harbor. There is small museum right next to it as well.
Walking back down the hill we had lunch at The Warren Tavern. This is the most historic tavern in America, and was visited often by George Washington and Paul Revere. it was built in 1780 and the first building built after Charlestown was taken by the British.
After lunch we decided to take an Uber to Salem, Massachusetts. This was an interest to me especially since I’ve read quite a bit about the Salem Witch Trials. The Uber ride over was about 30 minutes. We went to the Salem Witch Museum and saw the Trials presentation. This includes sets showing the story of the Witch trials in 1692. I thought it was the extra 30 minute trip over to Salem. We also went over to the cemetery in downtown Salem that honors the 18 people who were put to death for being told they were guilty of witchcraft.
We walked a little through downtown Salem with its shops and restaurants. The train station wasn’t too far so we took that back to Boston.
Day 4-
Our last day of trip! We stayed in Little Italy today. We had been inside the North Church but we have not been on a tour. The tour includes going up to the bell tower of the old church and down below into the crypts. The staircase going up is the same one Paul Revere ran up to light the lanterns to signal the British are coming. We also saw the Bell system they used to use, and still do. It is several ropes that are connected to the bells up on the top of the church. The guide also explained about the history of the church and how the bell playing was learned and used. Next, we journeyed down to the basement or the crypts of the church. From 1732 to 1860 the church used the space in its church to bury the congregants of the church. It has 37 brick vaults that can accommodate 20-40 coffins. We enjoyed this 30-40 minute tour of the parts of the church most people do not see! Very much recommended…
We saw a lot of history in 4 days. We didn’t see the whole city of course, but we did see some of the most popular and historic for sure. We would stay in the North End if we visit again. Such a nice area and close to everything!
1 note
·
View note
Text
Colorado Day 8 and 9
Day 8 and 9
We start our trek back toward the east of the state today. We are taking a short break from hotels and renting a house for 3 nights in Beulah Valley. We drove about 6 hours today to this area, which is just an hour from Canon City and Manitou Springs. Our house is in a very wooded area with pines and deer! A nice getaway. We could spread out for a few days!
The first day in this area we travel north to Manitou Springs to visit the Garden of the Gods. Great mountains of red rock with monument formations and trails. Also a free park! A very beautiful place to hike and take pictures. Check out the visitor center first. They have a great museum, gift shop, and scenic balcony.
0 notes
Text
Colorado Day 7
Day 7
As we stay one more night in Grand Junction, we head over to the state of Utah for the day. Our destination is Arches National Park. This is only about a 2 hour drive from our hotel, so any easy day trip we thought. The drive there is also very scenic and interesting. We start with the visitor center, and then the 18 mile scenic drive with all its stops and trails. Again we are in the middle of 100 degree heat so we try to do our best but of course do not see everything we’d like to. Some of the sites we saw were the The Organ, The Tower of Babel, Petrified Dunes viewpoint, The Three Gossips, Delicate Arch, The Double Arch, Courthouse Towers, and Balanced Rock. A beautiful drive! it is a very unique landscape and very much worth seeing. We did some short hikes and climbs on the rocks with the kids, but would have loved to see more! Tip: Bring lots of water, a hat, and sunblock!
0 notes
Text
Colorado Day 6
Day 6
Ok, so on to our second day in Grand Junction… We are heading over to Rim Rock Adventures in Fruita to do a raft ride on the Colorado River. This is a 3 hour ride on very calm water surrounded by grassy hills with the mountains in the distance. The water is super cold with it being only mid-June. We did hang our feet over the big raft in to the water though. Halfway thru the trip the kids got bolder and put most of their body in and floated along side. We saw deer and herons on the side of the river as we went by. We were hoping for a little bit more rapids, just a little, but where we were the river was very still. Our guide told us about the area and history of the river, as well as point out wildlife or anything of interest. Near the end of ride we stopped at an area of rocks in the river to get out and skip rocks. We liked the experience of rafting on the river, but maybe a bit too long for our tastes. It was quite hot in the sun with no shade or relief except plunging our feet into freezing water! Later in the day we walked though the downtown area of Grand Junction and saw their Farmer’s market.
0 notes
Text
Colorado Day 5
We are off traveling further west into Colorado. Our next destination is Grand Junction, about a 1.5 drive from Glenwood Springs. The first stop was to see Colorado National Monument. It was a very hot day when we were there at 100 degrees so we had trouble staying outside too long to see the sights! We entered the park on the west side in the town of Fruita. The Rim Rock Drive through the monument is 21 miles, a beautiful, scenic drive with many stops with short paths or viewing areas. We were not able to linger as much as we would like due to the heat. If we had it would have been a good 2 hours to go through all the stops. Some of the sites to see were Redland view, Distant view, Historic trails view, Balanced Rock, Coke Oven overlook, and the Devils Kitchen area. Our hotel was right in the middle of downtown Grand Junction, the Fairfield downtown Grand Junction hotel. It is a nice small downtown shopping area with many restaurants. We ate at a great place called Pablo’s pizza.
0 notes
Text
Colorado Day 4
Day 4
Our second day in Glenwood Springs. Our plan today is to go to Glenwood Caverns adventure Park. This is a park that features the historic Fairy Cave. The adventure park was built up around it. One of the main ways up to the canyon where the park is located is by gondola. A very scenic way up to see the surrounding areas! The main attractions in the park is the zipline, canyon swing, alpine coaster, canyon swing, canyon flyer, a roller coaster, as well as some smaller rides. Our fave was the alpine coaster! It is a sled-like car that you ride in solo or with another person (usually a child). You are able to control the speed of the car with a lever. I liked that you could slow down a bit or speed up when you wanted. The whole notion of going right over the side of the canyon was exciting but not too scary since you are in control. Our family went on it about 4 times! We also liked the canyon flyer and zipline. We did do the 40 minute cave tour. It is a guided tour with about 10 or less people. The guide explained the history of the cave, as well as all the formations we were seeing. We also got a great view of the surrounding towns from an outside balcony that we came out for during the tour. It is also a nice break from the heat, a constant 52 degrees in the cave! We stayed about 4 or 5 hours, which was enough time to do everything we came to see.
0 notes
Photo
https://travelsponzfamilyof5.tumblr.com/post/165021163778/bsponz-june-2017-our-trip-involves-going-on-a
0 notes
Text
June 2017
Our trip involves going on a 2 week vacation to Colorado with 3 kids and driving 3000 miles. Sound difficult? Well, we did it with little to no problems, and overall success. We live near Chicago, Illinois, so it took 2 days of driving, about 8 hours of driving each day. Piece of cake! We stopped halfway in Lincoln, NE for the night.
We knew we wanted to go to Colorado since my husband and I were there about 15 years ago, with no children then. So… yes, now would be a bit harder and of course must be more researched/structured to make the most of it. I looked at a map and figured out our route by areas we would like to see. I wanted to go around the majority of the state, which also would give us the variety of seeing the big mountains and desert regions in same trip. I broke it down to this:
2 days- Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park
2 days- Glenwood Springs
3 days- Grand Junction, and Moab, UTAH
3 days- Belauh Valley, Manitou Springs, and Canon City
PLUS, the 4 days of traveling to and from home. So, 14 days of vacation and travel, phew!
I picked these regions by looking on a map and seeing how we could travel through most of the state and back in a reasonable time. By research I saw that these cities had several things we were interested in. National State Parks. An amusement Park. Rafting. Hiking. Scenic lookouts and drives. By how much was offered in each region I figured out how long we should stay. Then I looked into hotels and booked them well in advance, 5-6 months out.
DAY 1: First stop is Estes Park, which is the town right at Rocky Mountain National Park.
We started an easy short hike at Hollowell park. We then took a bus from this trail area to Bear Lake. This time of year Bear Lake is super crowded, so the parking lot was full. We parked at Hollowell park instead. Bear Lake is a nice lake surrounded by a do-able, .8 mile walking trail loop. There was some snow on parts of the trail which was exciting to see in the summer months! Right next to the lake were other trails to walk. We walked the trail to Nymph Lake and Dream Lake. This was for sure the max walking limits for us! It was about 2 miles to Dream Lake, which was still full of snow. I think if we did it again we would skip the hike up to Dream Lake, maybe just up to Nymph Lake. It was a bit hard for my 6 and 10 year old to endure!
Bear Lake
That was it for that day! We ate dinner in the town of Estes Park, which is a neat downtown area with shops and restaurants.
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
Colorado Day 2
Day 2: Our second day in the park we went up to the north part of the park to Trail Ridge Road. Old Fall River Road was what we planned to take, as its more scenic, but it was closed still from snow! We took Trail Ridge road instead, which is still quite pretty with lots of scenic views and stops. A stop at Falls Rivers Visitor Center is good place for information about the parks and roads. Right before we embarked on Trail Ridge Road we visited Alluvial Fan. This is a big waterfall essentially with rocks fanned out all around it. It’s a good place to climb on rocks. My kids liked this quite a bit.
Fall Rivers Visitor Center
Alluvial Fan from a distance up on Trail Ridge Road
Saw Big Horn Sheep!!
Trail Ridge road is a scenic highway through Rocky Mountain National Park. It is 48 miles from the Fall River entrance to Grand Lake. The road goes up to 12,000 ft. at its highest. You will be up in the snow mountains once you near Alpine Valley. It was quite chilly up at this point. A frozen tundra.
Scenic spots through out Trail Ridge Drive (below)
Cold and Windy in June!
12,000 Ft.!!
The Alpine Visitor Center is a great place to stop at, either for the view at the top of hill or to just warm up inside! When we were there it was windy and cold. Take a warm jacket, gloves, and winter hat even if you are there in the early summer. You need to hike up a series of steps up to the top of hill, which is right next to the visitor center. There is a great view of the snow topped mountains and tundras. Inside the visitor center are gift shops and restaurant. We got coffee and hot chocolate to warm up.
We continued on Trail Ridge road through park to the other side at Grand Lake. Grand Lake is a small town, with a downtown with some restaurants and shops. We didn’t think there was much to do here. We just stayed one night at The Big Horn Lodge.
Grand Lake, downtown
1 note
·
View note
Text
Colorado Day 3
Day 3
We are moving on from Rocky Mountain National Park to Glenwood Springs. This is a 2.5 hour trip west in to the state. Glenwood Canyon is an impressive drive! Very scenic as you come into the town. One of the things in Glenwood Springs that we thought seemed like a must was Hanging Lake. This is located in the Glenwood canyon. In order to see the Hanging Lake you do have to hike, and it is marked as difficult. It is a round trip of 3 miles, with rocky uphill hiking. My 3 kids did it ok, with my youngest being 6. We took a lot of breaks! It was very rewarding though to get to the top and see Hanging Lake. It is several waterfalls with clear blue water. Also, which we did not know until we got there is right above it is another sight, Sprouting Rock. This is just a 5 minute hike from Hanging Lake entrance. It is a breathtaking area with waterfalls all around you and cavernous rocks surrounding. You will for sure get a little wet, or a lot if you actually stand right under them! The whole excursion took about 4 hours.
1 note
·
View note