7th graders boarded a bus for Boston early Friday.  All were told to be there at 5:30 but by 5:18 or so, at least 20 people (chaperone and students alike) had parked cars, unloaded bags and were waiting for their teacher chaperones to appear.  You could feel the excitement as the next 12 minutes raced by and everyone boarded the bus, got settled, listened to some quick directions from the bus driver and took off.

The first stop was the Boston Museum of Science.  The lightning show was impressive–many students have cool pictures they took with their phones of the different bolts.   The Grossology exhibit was new and  Jon Fajans made sure to direct a couple of his teacher chaperones to check it out.  Cori Hardcastle preferred the Mysteries of Life exhibit.  “The exhibits that had been recently updated were so interactive it made it difficult to move on to the next exhibit and not feel like you were missing out,” Mrs. Decker commented.

The Paul Revere Mall provided a pretty spot to sit and eat lunch before venturing in to the Old North Church.  It was also ideal for photos and purchasing an Italian ice or some Boston merchandise.

The Old North Church overview prompted Mrs. Booth to expressed interest in playing the organ and then she revealed she doesn’t know how to play a pipe organ so students around her that one was probably not the one to try.  It’s the oldest pipe organ in the world!  Mrs. DeLuca was upset that the guide didn’t point out what she calls “Robert Newman’s window.”  But, the slideshow presentation explained why it may not be historically accurate to call it that.  The crypt and belfry tours were the favorite part of the day for some students and chaperones.  It was a little eerie to see the size of a tomb and hear how many bodies were stacked in a given space.  Paul Revere was once a bellringer at the church but to be a bell ringer today, you have to join a guild through MIT and attend hours and hours of training to learn the patterns.  Several students thought it was ominous that a black cat kept showing up during the different presentations.

Some of the historical landmarks on the Freedom Trail were quickly overshadowed when some groups rounded the corner after taking pictures in front of the Green Dragon restaurant and discovered Guy Fieri, the host of Diners, Drive ins and Dives filming his intro to an episode in front of a restaurant called Saus.  It supposedly has amazing french fries.  We didn’t get to taste those or even see the inside of the restaurant but some chaperones and students were able to watch Guy’s crew polish his classic red car and film several takes of the intro before Guy wished us all well and gave us the wave good-bye.

The next part of the day was Madison Kieft’s favorite part–touring Quincy Market.  She liked the variety of food, stores and street shows.  Annelise Ostrowski was glad to discover Starbucks Frappuccinos were available.  Darren Heigel liked listening to the “bucket drummer dude.”  He and Ambyr Lyons shared that the funniest moment of the day was when  Ambyr’s mom suddenly became part of the a street show and started to do the “cowboy” dance move in response to a breakdancer’s not-so-subtle advances.

It was sunny for 90 percent of the trip but after eating dinner at The Hard Rock Cafe and emerging to wait for the buses to pick them up, the group encountered rain.  At first it sprinkled for awhile and then it out-and-out poured.  Riley Flint was one of many who shared standing in the rain was his favorite part of the day.

The 3 1/2 hour bus ride for some is seen as a necessity to get from Galway to Boston but when you’re traveling with your entire class, it’s much more than that.  Lily Gullet enjoyed taking selfies with friends while on the way there and back.  Abby Brice loved the bus ride home when Bus #1 watched Frozen and sang along with it.

The trip received rave reviews overall.  Some students like Darren were excited to get there because they had never been there before.   Others were nervous because they had never been to a big city at all and were worried they would lose their group (which did happen to a couple students according to Riccardo Dery).  However at the end of the day, Jessica Pakatar commented that despite her initial concerns she liked it:   “I would definitely go back and do it again.”

Seventh graders and upperclassmen/graduates who went on the 7th grade trip to Boston, please post a comment below sharing your favorite memory of the trip.