Day 14
The last day of our trip! We woke up early and got all of our things packed then drove out to Braintree, MA to tour the birthplaces of John Adams and John Quincy Adams as well as the "Old" House in which they lived after he became president.
John & Abagail Adams are one of my favorite first families so I was very excited for this part of the trip (We recognized Paul Giamatti so easily since he plays John Adams in the HBO series adaptation of David McCullough's book). We had an amazing tour guide at the Presidential house which made it even better.
There were a lot of funny stories about the Presidential house. For one, they purchased the house without seeing it. Abagail had remembered the house from when she was younger and how large it was, they were in France at the time and when they heard it was for sale, had a friend purchase it for them. When they returned home they were shocked to find that it was not quite as big as she remembered. Even worse, the house was only about 12ft deep from the front door to the back. Abagail was disappointed but determined to make it work so she had additions build onto the house. In the addition, she wanted the ceiling raised. This caused a problem, however, for if the ceiling was raised in just the addition, the floors of the second story would not match up. When the contractor told her this her response was "Well then lower the floor." So they did, and when you walk in to the addition on the first story you have to take a few steps down.
The best part of the Adams house was that every single thing in the house was owned by the Adams family. Dishes, tables, books, beds. They even have the chair that John Adams died in.
This little house is the stone library that was added to the house by John Adams' great grandson (I think) to protect the books his family had collected. It is separated from the main house to prevent it being ruined in case of a fire and to allow for it to be kept at a cooler temperature preserving the books. Wouldn't you love a little place like that to go and read? It includes two stories of book shelves and over 14,000 books all originally owned by the Adams family.
Around the grounds was beautiful. All sorts of flowers and orchards surrounding the house.
As soon as the tour was over Benson and I ran (literally) to the subway and rode it to the Airport. We checked in for our flight and realized we probably wouldn't make it on (we were flying standby). We had to wait in the airport for a couple of hours and then finally made it on a flight (the last one of the day!).
Going home from vacation is always a bittersweet thing. It's so exciting to be in your own home in your own bed - but ending the freedom vacation brings is no fun.
Home Sweet Home!
The last day of our trip! We woke up early and got all of our things packed then drove out to Braintree, MA to tour the birthplaces of John Adams and John Quincy Adams as well as the "Old" House in which they lived after he became president.
John & Abagail Adams are one of my favorite first families so I was very excited for this part of the trip (We recognized Paul Giamatti so easily since he plays John Adams in the HBO series adaptation of David McCullough's book). We had an amazing tour guide at the Presidential house which made it even better.
There were a lot of funny stories about the Presidential house. For one, they purchased the house without seeing it. Abagail had remembered the house from when she was younger and how large it was, they were in France at the time and when they heard it was for sale, had a friend purchase it for them. When they returned home they were shocked to find that it was not quite as big as she remembered. Even worse, the house was only about 12ft deep from the front door to the back. Abagail was disappointed but determined to make it work so she had additions build onto the house. In the addition, she wanted the ceiling raised. This caused a problem, however, for if the ceiling was raised in just the addition, the floors of the second story would not match up. When the contractor told her this her response was "Well then lower the floor." So they did, and when you walk in to the addition on the first story you have to take a few steps down.
The best part of the Adams house was that every single thing in the house was owned by the Adams family. Dishes, tables, books, beds. They even have the chair that John Adams died in.
This little house is the stone library that was added to the house by John Adams' great grandson (I think) to protect the books his family had collected. It is separated from the main house to prevent it being ruined in case of a fire and to allow for it to be kept at a cooler temperature preserving the books. Wouldn't you love a little place like that to go and read? It includes two stories of book shelves and over 14,000 books all originally owned by the Adams family.
Around the grounds was beautiful. All sorts of flowers and orchards surrounding the house.
As soon as the tour was over Benson and I ran (literally) to the subway and rode it to the Airport. We checked in for our flight and realized we probably wouldn't make it on (we were flying standby). We had to wait in the airport for a couple of hours and then finally made it on a flight (the last one of the day!).
Going home from vacation is always a bittersweet thing. It's so exciting to be in your own home in your own bed - but ending the freedom vacation brings is no fun.
Home Sweet Home!
Next up: The Food!
1 witty remarks:
OK, I love that house and that story, so cool! Lucky you for having such wonderful experiences!~
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