One Last Trip before 2016

Since Lewie was off from school (and we had a few days off from work), we decided to take one last minute trip before the New Year.  Last year at Thanksgiving, we took a short trip to the Cape Codder in, you guessed it, Cape Cod.  The hotel had this incredible indoor wave pool and plenty of kid friendly activities (like making yummy s'mores over a campfire).  Well, the property management company of the Cape Codder also owns another kid friendly hotel called the John Carver Inn in Plymouth, MA.

When I looked up the John Carver Inn right after Christmas, I knew this would be our next perfect getaway.  For one, the John Carver Inn has this incredible water slide that's attached to a ship that looks just like the May Flower (it's in Plymouth after all).  And secondly, they had a Festival of Lights package, which meant the stay would include tickets to the Edaville Railroad where we could see "more than seven million twinkling holiday lights spread throughout a scenic train ride."  (My little boy still LOVES trains.)

Finally, there was one last benefit to staying at the John Carver Inn.  Seeing that the hotel itself is only 40 minutes outside of Boston, we decided to visit the city and go to the LEGOLAND Discovery Center (a bold move since it was crowded in the city and especially at the center).

The trip did not disappoint.  We drove up on Tuesday night, enjoyed the pool and got a good night's sleep, and on Wednesday, we were off to see LEGOLAND in the afternoon and take the Edaville Train Ride in the evening.  It was a full day but so worth it. 

At first, the mobs of people waiting to get into LEGOLAND, was a little intimidating.  A few hundred people, it seemed, were standing in line with their prepayed tickets waiting to get inside.  Fortunately, after a 20 minute wait and being escorted to the second floor, the feeling of being like a packed sardine lifted.  We were quickly brought to the LEGO Factory Tour, which led to the Kingdom Quest Ride.  After that, we were free to explore the center on our own, which felt much bigger and roomier than the downstairs entrance.  We grabbed a short bite to eat at their Café and then proceeded to see all three of their 4D movies; they were fun and even got us a little wet as snow and rain fell on us.  (Talk about it feeling like we were right there in the movie!)  Lewie had a chance to try and build a skyscraper on one of the Earth Quake Tables, and then we explored MINILAND, which boasted a replica of Boston and Boston Harbor--all in LEGOS, of course.

Waiting in line.

Waiting in line some more.

Ready to Go!

The Kingdom Quest Ride. 

Lunch!

MINILAND - Boston Harbor Tea Party

Faneuil Hall

Boston skyline

Lego Fans....Love it!

To the movies...AGAIN

After a full day at LEGOLAND, we ventured back to the hotel and then to the Edaville Railroad.  We soon learned that the Edaville Railroad is all part of Edaville, U.S.A., a children's amusement park, full of rides and gift shops.  I didn't know the rides would be running during a chilly 35 degree night, but they were and people were in line to go on them!  Unfortunately, we are less hardy folk, so we skipped the outside rides and went straight for the toasty warm train ride (hey it was 65 degrees on Christmas, so we weren't quite adjusted to this sudden dip to 30 degree weather).

Enjoying a gingerbread man before the train ride.

Edaville's lights made it a truly magical place.

Aboard the train.

Of course, my son chooses a toy train instead of candy...

Our trip was short, but it was memorable.  Whenever we reminisce about Christmas 2015, LEGOLAND and the Edaville Festival of Lights will certainly come to mind.  Lewie asked if we could go on the train ride again the following week.  I have to agree that viewing the millions of lights from the train certainly was a magical experience.