6/29/13: Schooner Adirondack III Sailing in Boston

I live right near Boston and sometimes I forget to explore it.  Today we were lucky enough to explore Boston from the water with Classic Harbor Line on the Schooner Adirondack III.  Read on and I have a special discount code for you to save $10 per ticket.

 Here is the boat which is certified up to 42 people and sails out of Rowes Wharf in Boston.  It is right behind the Boston Harbor Hotel and they validate your parking so that it is only $12.  It made it super easy to get in to Boston and park and go on to the boat.  

We were booked on a 1 pm boat however they were concerned about some thunderstorms and cancelled that sailing.  The people who worked there were very nice and changed our reservation to 3:30 pm and took my cell phone number to call us if anything changed.  The location is perfect so we walked over to the Aquarium and saw the Sea Lions and then went through Fanuil Hall and got lunch.

The kids are excited for their voyage.  This is the first time they had been on a sail boat.  

 The view from the boat are wonderful of Boston.  

 It was beautiful weather luckily.  On the boat they bring you water and soda which is included.  No food is offered but you could bring some with you.  I brought some snacks but the kids were having so much fun they never asked me for any.

Seeing some of the islands as we were out on our trip. 

 I thought the sail was really pretty.

 To save $10 of each ticket go to: http://www.boston-sailing.com/ using ONLINE promo code FAMILY10 

Lauren was having fun on the boat and kept posing for me.

Evan checking out the view.

 So pretty.  The ride was very smooth.  Being a sail boat it does pitch to one side but it wasn't too bad.

 One of the guys working on the boat told us about what we were seeing as we went.

The kids walked around and went on to the side of the boat.  They told us we could walk around as long as you stayed on the side that was pitched upward.

 The kids didn't seem scared at all and stood on the boat.  Even my husband who usually gets motion sickness didn't get sick on the boat.

The kids talking to one of the deck hands who was telling him about the sights and the boat.

It is also really cool that you can see planes taking off. 

Here are some views from the boat.

 

They sail out of many locations including Newport, RI, New York, and Key West.

 

They have daily 2 hour sails at 1 and 3:30 for $42 and Sunset Sails at 6:30 or 6:00 in August for $52.  They also have 1 and half hour inner harbor sails on Saturday and Sunday at 11 am for $38, and a City Lights Sail at 9 pm or 8:30 pm in August for $38. 

What a wonderful boat.  I would definitely check it out.  Check them out and see Boston from the water. 

Like them on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Classic-Harbor-Line-Boston/481406748563442

Follow them on Twitter:  @CHL_Boston and @ClassicHarbor

Disclosure:  I received a family four pack of tickets to promote.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

6/27/13: Laser Maze from ThinkFun

 Recently my kids got to try out Laser Maze from ThinkFun.  This game just released in June.  Using a laser, a grid and game pieces kids are able to use their brain power to direct the laser to land on the right targets.  

You are given a card that start with beginner and go up to expert.  The cards have you place certain pieces but you must orient them appropriately to get the laser to hit the right amount of targets.  My kids started out with beginner to get used to it.

 It took the kids a bit to get used to how the pieces worked and how the laser would  be reflected but soon they were able to set it up properly and were having a great time.

 I love that this is not really a competitive game but more a game of you against the game.  Therefor, no sadness in losing.  I also think it is very clever and makes kids think in a different way.  They really need to visualize how the laser will go.

 The game is intended for ages 8 to adult and has 60 challenge cards.

Here is a video on how to play:

It was really fun watching them trying to figure it out.  Evan would help Lauren as she is a bit younger but she didn't too bad for a 6 year old.

It really made them think and they had fun.  Even my husband liked it and started playing. He enjoyed playing the more advanced levels.

 Super cool science game that kids will love.

 Here it is as packaged.  I love that it builds skills in logical deduction and visual perception.  I would check it out.

Check out other great games from ThinkFun on their Website.

Twitter: @ThinkFun or on Facebook here.

Disclosure:  I was provided this game for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

6/27/13: The Butterfly Place

Today we went to the Butterfly Place for the first time in Westford, MA.  It is a really cute place where you can walk around in an indoor butterfly area.  I had bought a Groupon so watch out for deals to go there.  Here are the kids with a pretty blue butterfly sitting next to them.

 Here he is closer up.

Oh dear the kids turned in to butterflies!

Evan just had a full lesson at school on butterflies so he could tell me all about them.  We even bought a caterpillar to take home and watch him evolve in to a butterfly.

There were so many beautiful butterflies to check out.

But the highlight was Lauren having a butterfly land on her back.  She was so excited.  She really wanted one to land on her.

 This one was one of my favorites.

  The flowers were pretty too.

 Lauren with her buddy.  I think they liked her full butterfly outfit.  Butterfly shirt, skirt, earrings, and head band.

 So beautiful.

 Lauren found another friend.  

 I like this one too.

 Lovely detail

 Birdies!

 So cool.

 Look at this huge moth!

 I highly recommend checking it out.

 Find them on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/TheButterflyPlace