Massachusetts-Rhode Island-Connecticut: Beantown, Basketball, more family’s and friends in our 48th State!

Oct 31

Foxboro is our next stop and Normandy Farms Resort the launching pad for Boston and a quick lunch trip to Rhode Island. Aside from learning to spell Massachusetts (more Vince than the kids but it’s a hard one 😳) these final 3 states have an abundance of history to explore. Unfortunately the “official” National Park Sites were largely closed due to the government shutdown. Unlike National Parks and Recreation Areas which are outdoor and accessible during the shutdown, most of the historical sites are homes and smaller structure based locations that weren’t as intriguing to see from the outside. We still toured the streets and did a part of the Freedom Walk through Boston, as well as took in a really good lunch at an Irish pub! We also drove through/around Harvard, Berkeley and passed a number of other Boston area colleges and universities. Behind NYC and LA, Boston has the 3rd most higher ed institutions in the US. It’s also a BIG sports town so we also checked out a few stadiums and some less historical but really cool spots too!

Peyton’s obligatory wheelie at our campground… #3 if 1237!

While not Patriots fans you gotta drive by the Patriot’s Gillett Stadium… quite a facility.

The outside of Paul Revere House Museum… would have been nice.

Gotta love some of the architecture in North Square

Some fun with the “farm” side of Normandy Farms RV Resort.

A large babydoll sheep… never seen one of these before.

We took lunch and drove to Vally Falls Heritage Park… which wasn’t much more than a deserted space where an old mill previously stood next to the falls. Was a pretty stop and counted for our 47th State, Rhode Island!

A boondocking night at the Springfield, MA Cracker Barrel so Vince and Jayden could stop at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (HOF). After some hoop-time south to our last state, Connecticut!

The hand size of some of the greats was interesting and also made a lot of sense… lots of ball control with those big hands!

Jayden was curious about the early uniform designs, particularly the onezy styles :)

The original NBA Championship trophy… pretty much owned by the Celtics.

Funtime watching Jayden interview Shaq and join the Inside the NBA Team.

After the inspiration, got some shots in before heading south.

Connecticut had a few surprises for us as our last state of the lower 48! Stopping at Bristol at the nation’s oldest amusement park Lake Compounce, we were right around the corner from ESPN headquarters. Also near enough for a visit from one of Vince’s fellow Athletic Training student/friends from Taylor University and Vince’s Aunt and Uncle.