Lobstah! Chowdah!

A few days in glorious Boston.

Author

JD Wonnacott
September 16, 2025

As many of you know, ChuckDub got his mission call in July: Massachusetts Boston Mission, Mandarin Chinese speaking. And since we were flying through on our way to Italy, we decided to start the adventure back up in August with a few extra days in Boston.

Proved an awesome decision. Boston is amazing. Steeped in history, great food, wonderful people, and we even ran into some Chinese-speaking missionary Elders. Got some super helpful scoop on what to expect, what to bring, everything. Charles is super excited.

I’m a T.

Also, I just had to put this photo in. Look at the legroom on the flight there. It was glorious! I couldn’t even reach the seat in front of me. Mony is a flight-booking wizard!

A few of the Boston highlights

Red Sox game

Welcome to Fenway.

A trip to Fenway is a magical experience. Just the spirit of the place harkens to the early days of baseball, what made it great. People here know every player, every position, every game. And as you walk from section to section, you realize you’re walking where the greats have walked. Which makes you feel great. But not so great they actually put me in the game. That’d be preposterous. Can you imagine, me, cowering in right field praying they don’t hit my way? Kinda like my little league career.

View from the grand stand.

We sat in the grand stands. Some of the field was blocked, and the seats were built for men a foot smaller than me—my knees just don’t fit, like, at all—but boy was it fun. We attended a Yankees game when we were in NYC. Boston was totally different. Both good, but again, something about the history of this place overwhelms you. Grab a sausage dog, a Coke, some popcorn, and breath in baseball as it was, and as it is.

The Freedom Trail

We dragged our kids over almost the entire thing. If you ask them, we made them walk 100 miles. It was worth it.

Freedom trail marker. “Dad, why are you taking a picture of the sidewalk?”

Old North Church. “One if by land, two if by sea.” The girls were most impressed with the gift shop and spent such significant time inside that there’s a chance we’re getting mail there now.

Paul Revere’s house. If you look closely, you can just make out my fat finger at the top. That’s some quality photography skills. You’re welcome. Also, this is the best of many that I took.

Plaque on said Paul Revere house, thereby making it official. I’ve decided I want plaques placed on all the places I’ve lived.

Gazing majestically toward the Boston skyline from the deck of the USS Constitution. My highlight from this site was when Bean freaked out and got mad at me for walking.
“Stop doing the Dad stroll!”
The ladies next to me cracked up laughing and said, “teenage daughters, am I right?” I responded, “all these years and I’ve been walking wrong. Who knew?”

It might be hard to tell, but this is a huge lobster. Huge. But it’s in a museum and not on my dinner plate. Sadly. But it’s also a great shot of my hat. Just look at it. Breathtaking.

George Washington statue in Boston Public Garden.

Bunker Hill Monument. 294 steps up a narrow stone staircase. We hiked to the top. I didn’t die. Almost. But didn’t.

When we met up with the Chinese-speaking missionaries, they gave ChuckDub a new version of The Book of Mormon, so he can start practicing. It really was cool to meet them and get the scoop on the mission, the areas where the Chinese-speaking missionaries serve, etc. Sounds like ChuckDub will likely spend a lot of time in Cambridge.

We also took a Duck Tour. I apparently failed to snap any photos of that one, so here’s one from the good folks at Boston Duck Tours. It really is “the only land and water tour in Boston” worth taking, I agree. Plus, our guide was the former JFK translator at the UN—for those who couldn’t understand the Boston accent. Boston American accent to “regular” American accent. True story.

And after a quick trip to Boston, we jumped on a plane and made our way to Rome, Italy. We spent the better part of August in Italy, going from Rome → Siena → Loro Ciufenna (Tuscany countryside) → and Florence. Stay tuned for the Italy update…