When I actually sit down to think about it, I haven't been to that many national parks. Everglades, Glacier, Yellowstone, Acadia... but I think that's about it. Andy's been to the Grand Canyon. And the kids... probably just the Everglades. We've got a lot of work to do in that department, but we made a small dent this weekend visiting Spectacle Island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Park. I've wanted to go there since researching it a bit online last year- there are 8 or so islands that you can reach by different ferry boats from downtown Boston, and each one is unique. Some have old forts, some have beaches, some are just rocky islets with grassy tops. This early in the season, you can only visit 2 of the islands, so we chose Spectacle Island for the day.
The ferry ride was a short 20 minutes, just long enough to snap some photos of the receding Boston skyline and slap some sunscreen on the kids. Then, we disembarked onto a small island with wide beaches and endless grass undulating in the wind. So strange to be in downtown Boston one minute, and then out on this undeveloped island the next. Our first activity was to walk the beaches. Some were sandy and others rocky, but all were absolutely covered with beautiful sea glass pieces and pottery nicely rounded in the surf. Spectacle Island was a quarantine area for ships and people with suspected disease at one time, and then in the middle of the 20th century it was a landfill site. During Boston's "big dig" in the 1990s, this island is where much of the dirt from the "dig" ended up. You would never guess the islands history now from it's beautiful grassy slopes and hiking paths, but the abundance of sea glass and pottery gives a clue, I suppose. Aiden came up with a contest idea, to see who could find the best pieces... rarest color, most unusual shape, best patterning or words... so we collected for over an hour and then sorted our loot. Since Spectacle Island is a national park, they prefer you don't take anything home with you (even "cultural artifacts" like sea glass) so we knew we'd just be taking photos and leaving it all there. We came up with some impressive pieces though, with lovely patterning and shades of purple, green and blue. All in all it was a fun way to spend the first part of our day.
Then, on to walk the island. There is a loop trail that rings the island, with several spiraling offshoots that reach the two highest points. We walked round and round and round, urging Haley along as she wasn't feeling particularly "hikey" that day, and eventually reached the highest point on the north drumlin. The views of Boston Harbor are outstanding from there, and the huge mowed grassy lawns are a crazy luxury for picnicking and lounging about on a beautiful summery day. We found some shade under a tree on one lawn and laid out our lunch of cold sesame noodles, hummus & carrots, and cherries. Everyone was tired enough to nap for awhile before heading back down to the beaches for some more exploring.
By 2:30 pm, we were ready to head back to civilization. After exploring the playground at Christopher Columbus Park and getting an early seafood dinner, we drove home to New London, sunburned and tired from an adventurous day. We're already planning a next time- to visit Georges and Peddocks Islands and see how they compare to our beautiful day at Spectacle.
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