One of the neatest things we did in Boston was drive to Quincy to see the homes of John Adams and John Quincy Adams. We happened to go on the National Park Service's birthday so we got free admission (woohoo!) but that tour would have been well worth the $15 fee. Park rangers guide visitors through their first two little houses, then to the big house they bought after they got used to living in a 40-room home in England. Going through the sites with the rangers made all the difference — they told us about history, personalities, stories and funny tidbits. So fun (and educational). An amazing experience. . Back in colonial days, lobster was considered icky food served to prisoners! The real delicacy was... eel. A trolley shuttled us between the two sites. The Adams had a stone library built next to the main house, so the books would be safe in case of a fire. We were so excited to spot a monarch in the garden outside! Interior of the library. John Quincy Adams could speak 7 languages and read 13, so the guy had a lot of books. A ton of rare books in this collection, including a Book of Mormon signed by Joseph Smith. When the archivists were cleaning the books, they found one inscribed by George Washington. Who knows what other treasures are in here! The desk in the corner is the one John Adams used as president (there's a replica in his old house).   The tiles on the floor are designed after a quilt. And like a quilt, there's one intentional mistake, the humility block. Can you find it? The little boxwoods at the front of the house are 400 years old! The Adams didn't build the house; when they bought it, Abigail thought the ceilings were too low so she had an extension built that was lower, like a sunken living room. The Adams family gave the house to the National Park Service, and they still hold a reunion there every year. (There are some 3,000 descendants living across the country.) Upstairs bedroom in the Peacefield house. Downstairs in the living room was the furniture Adams bought second hand in Europe. They were the first residents of the White House, so the first furniture in the White House was second hand. The ranger also pointed out the face masks people used to shield their faces from the fireplace. People who survived smallpox filled their scars with beeswax, and didn't want their faces to melt away. (Mind your beeswax, anyone?)