This post, the last in a series, has been contributed by Vonnette Monteith, whose family won a Best Western 'Retro To Now' Road Trip.

     Boston is one of our all time favorite cities and we were happy to have an excuse to visit it again.  The kids made a few stipulations after having me drag them all over for the last four days.  No walking and nothing historic!  I hated to break it to them that they would have to spend the entire day with their eyes shut!  We started the day by meeting Madie’s godfather, Dale, at Bunker Hill.  The kids overlooked the fact that we were starting the day at a key piece of history because we were meeting Dale there.  I have found that when dealing with my kids it’s all in the delivery – we weren’t visiting Bunker Hill, we were meeting up with Dale. 

The two oldest also decided to walk the 250+ stairs to the top of the monument to see the view of Boston – so there went the no walking thing.  From there Teddy and I decided to walk the freedom trail while the other three went into the Boston Commons to take a swan boat ride.  Then, we all linked up at the Frog Pond.  They spent the afternoon splashing and playing in the frog pond.  After they were sufficiently worn out we drove the car to the North End to have a snack and walk around a bit.  Due to the fact I did not get my Italian pastry fix while in New York I more than made up for it in Boston.  The North End is the Italian part of town.  I walked away from Mike's (best canolis in the area) with a box of treats.  We then headed down into the old part of the city so Bryan could get his "pints".  He has been longingly looking at every Irish pub we passed during the trip and I figured Boston would be the best place.  We stopped at "the oldest restaurant" in the city for fries, clams, and beer.  By the time we left Boston everyone was happy: I had my desserts, Bryan his beer, and the kids got to spend the majority of the day playing! Next was the day of the big drive.  Even by our standards this was going to push the max driving range for the kids.  Eight hours or more in the car – all the way from Boston to Buffalo!  Good thing the Volkswagen Routan is so well-equipped; that DVD player sure is handy.  The day went alright only one good melt down which Bryan managed to capture on video.  The kids are going to rue the day they have fits when Dad has the camera.  We also were planning to stop for dinner in Syracuse and meet our cousin Rob.  Dinner was very enjoyable; as we met at The Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse which has great food and you can sit outside and watch the "choppers".  Plus, the roar of the motorcycles muffles anything the kids can attempt. 

After dinner we were within striking range of the hotel so we all knew we would make it.  It’s also so nice to know there is a comfortable room waiting when you arrive.  Let me tell you - Best Western never looked so good as last night after ten hours of traveling!  What a treat it was too! The hotel is brand new and the beds were super comfortable!  We were all just super tired.  Tomorrow the last day of the trip and we are off to see Niagara Falls!

Last day of the road trip and the kids are still going strong.  We let them swim in the morning in case we came back from the falls late.  Which was a good call as we ended staying for the fireworks.  We never thought we would be there that long, but time flies when you are having fun!

Niagara was like that.  We had been there several times before and I actually thought it would be a short day.  We decided to purchase the discovery ticket that gives you entrance to everything.  That was sooo worth it!  We started out at Cave of the Winds. Absolutely phenomenal!  I would recommend always starting the day there, A, you are going to get soaked and you need all day to dry off and B, it gives you a whole new appreciation for the power of the falls.  Basically you take an elevator down to the bottom of the Bridal Veils which is the small part of the American falls.  You then proceed to walk up into the falls as they crash down on the rocks.  It is called Hurricane Deck and while I have never been through a hurricane I imagine that is what is feels like.  The force is amazing and the kids loved it.  It can be a little scary too; Scotty did not really dig it and clung to the rails as his sisters ran in and out of the spray.  I clung to Madie not wanting a stray big wave to knock her between the slats, you know -  that mother in me. 

From there we walked down to the Maid of the Mist boat ride.  This is where doing the cave first comes in handy.  The boat goes by the area where you walk and proceeds on to the center of the Canadian falls.  From the vantage point of the boat it looks like a little trickle of water and kids playing in the sprinkler compared to the Horseshoe Falls.  So knowing how strong a force the sprinkler was puts a whole new light on Horseshoe Falls. 

We ate lunch at Top of the Falls and liked it so much we went back at night for dessert.  Very good restaurant, convenient if you park on Goat Island, and a great view of Horseshoe Falls.  I had every plan to walk over to the Canadian side but by the time we finished dessert and the day was over it was close to 10 p.m.  Thus the "OK I guess we will watch the fireworks."  I would also recommend taking a sweatshirt which we didn't.  It gets very chilly there.

Close drive to the hotel and another great night of sleep at probably my favorite hotel of the trip - The Inn of Lackawanna Best Western! Tomorrow we head home.

We had an afternoon flight so plenty of time for another swim before we had to pack up and leave.  The flight was easy but as road trippers we obviously don't fly often and to be honest wasn't too keen on it.  Especially flying into NYC right after the small plane flew into the helicopter.  That was lovely news as I was waiting to board the plane!  Happy to report not even major turbulence.  We had plenty of time for lunch at JFK and then our last leg home.  I crawled through the door and headed upstairs to bed claiming, "I'll unpack in the morning!"  The kids however, not being tired, were like "see you tomorrow, we’re watching the Disney Channel".  Another great vacation completed!

I would be remiss by not thanking the people who made this great memory making vacation possible!

Best Western- Obviously the "Best" hotel!

AAA- Great plans, great gifts, and a great company!!!

Hertz- Who facilitated our first car pickup which was very easy and started us off on a great trip.

Volkswagen- Great car with all the amenities a family could want! And, a very helpful gent who dropped the car off and met us at the hotel so we could go all the way to the airport in "our" new car.  The kids were even allowed to watch a DVD on the way to the airport. 

Our friends and family – who voted for our photo and gave us the chance to go on the trip!

Thanks to everyone behind the scenes this was a dream come true for a big Army family!

AAA has definitely been a great sponsor for this trip. AAA has been a part of our family since as long as I can remember. My grandparents and parents have always been AAA members. It was just the thing to do. "Go to college, go to church, and join AAA", but maybe not in that order! 

I remember when I got my driver’s license my dad making a big deal out of putting me on the AAA policy and taking me down to the local AAA store and showing me all the cool things they had. We grew up with TripTiks and TourBooks. When I graduated from college and got my own car and insurance the first stop I made was to a AAA store to make sure I was covered. My dad told me as a young adult and it sort of stuck with me, "I would rather pay a little money to make sure that if something happens to the car you can just call someone to help rather than hurt yourself or the car trying to fix it on your own."

That was never truer than last year when I actually used up all my towing for the year. One time I actually went off the road in upstate NY in the snow. That was really scary and after I calmed down I was like, "Who do I call? Oh I know AAA." They had me back on the road within the hour. I wasn't even late for my meeting. So when I found out AAA was co-sponsoring this trip with our favorite hotel chain it seemed too perfect.

Thanks,  AAA for your support on this trip
Vonnette