Any ideas on my plan very welcome..thanks!

Hi, my 16 year old son and i are arriving in Boston around 11 on Amtrak from Conn. (having flown the day before from CA).

The first day we have a tour of Northeastern from 2-4 and are visiting a cousin at Harvard from 5-?

We are staying at the Club Quarters.

The second day we are devoting to the Freedom trail (we are history buffs). Any ideas for the eve? What time should we expect to finish if we really do the whole thing ';right';..and read a lot and make most of the stops? (know this is a hard question? I know we will be tired!

The next day we have a tour of Boston U from 10-12..and then are free until 5 when we get back on Amtrak. Any suggestions that a 16 year old would LOVE that are Inexpensive or free????

Other questions....in Harvard Square any suggestions of music stores/vintage shops? My son loves music and we live in a small town in CA. don%26#39;t have much of that!

Last question?? Also in Boston, any chance of music related things for potential college students..he can%26#39;t get into most venues being 16, but anything else you can think of...music realted...he plays bass guitar. Thanks for any and all advice. i want to make this aprt of our vacation as perfect as i can!!!

Any ideas on my plan very welcome..thanks!

The Freedom Trail is highly individualized in terms of how long it takes. Some people take a full day. Some two days. Others two half-days. Depends on how many sites you actually go into and your level of interest. And, of course, your tolerance levels. So nobody can tell you when you are going to be finished.

Do make sure you visit Harvard Square. And do walk through Harvard Yard, even if it isn%26#39;t on your son%26#39;s personal radar screen. And a great venue where your son will be quite welcome, thank you, is Club Passim, which focuses on accustic music (re: folk music). It%26#39;s located in Harvard Square.

Any ideas on my plan very welcome..thanks!

Sounds like you have some good plans here. Your school visits may take longer than 2 hours depending on your son%26#39;s interest. We would often just chat with kids attending the school not just the admissions folk and check out some areas where tours did not go. After your BU visit, I%26#39;d suggest a tour of Boston%26#39;s Fenway Park, home to the Red Sox. Tours cost $12 pp (http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/ballpark/tour.jsp Another place that%26#39;s a freebie is the Boston Public Library. They have some great exhibits in there (www.bpl.org) as well as a free tour. Club Passim in Harvard Square has begun to serve beer and wine but also has food so it is open to all ages. Another great place for you to go would be Cafe 939. It%26#39;s run by the kids at Berklee College. They%26#39;ve had some good acts there. You do need tickets to get in. No alcohol served so it%26#39;s good for your son. www.cafe939.com. Good luck!

I%26#39;ll chime in with a suggestion to take your son to see Blue Man Group. I think you both would really enjoy it and I believe there%26#39;s an 8PM show most nights. I%26#39;ll leave you the link in case you%26#39;re interested..

http://www.blueman.com/about

In Harvard Square, there%26#39;s a shopping area called ';The Gargage.'; In it is a store called Newbury Comics which has tons of cool music and music-related items (tshirts, posters, ephemera). It%26#39;s a teenager%26#39;s heaven. In the same shopping complex is another store of theirs called Hootenany with street clothes.

If he%26#39;s into pop/rock, you might want to try looking at what%26#39;s playing at some of the seated venues. These tend to be all ages and have cool (although larger) acts.

Somerville Theater

Berklee Theater

Orpheum Theater

ICA Boston

Bank of America Pavilion (if you come back in the summer)

oops...that should have said ';The Garage';

sorry for the typo! :O

For used CDs, vinyl records (!), etc, check out ';Looney Tunes';. They have two locations, one on Boylston Street, Boston, not too far from the Prudential Center and another on Mass Ave, not too far from Harvard Square.

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions!!!1

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