Monday, October 1, 2012
Boston: The Freedom Trail
A beautiful day today, low 70s and sunny! Again we started our
day downstairs at the bacon bar. We ate a little less bacon than
yesterday, but still LOTS of bacon. Yeah! That's the way to start a
day!
We drove to Wonderland Station, the side mirror still gamely
hanging on, took the Blue Line to Government Center, then switched
to the Green Line E Branch and rode out to the Museum of Fine Arts.
We had a hot lead on some giant metal baby heads on display behind
the museum and just couldn't miss seeing (and posing with)
them!
Jana and
"Night"
Tom and
"Day"
After fun-with-baby-heads time, we walked over to the Prudential
Building and visited the Prudential Sky Observatory, on the 50th
floor. We got there at 1:20, just in the nick of time, because,
unbeknownst to us until we arrived, they were closing the
observatory for the day for a private function at 2:00. We had
great views of most of Boston, except for the direction that's
blocked by the taller John Hancock Building. It's always
interesting to see the aerial view of a place.
From the Prudential Sky
Observatory
Boston Harbor
Islands
Fenway Park and the
Charles River
We spent the rest of the day on The Freedom Trail, a 3-mile walk
along the path of some of the oldest locations from America's
founding. Starting at Boston Common and ending at Bunker Hill, a
painted red line on the sidewalk leads past 16 historic landmarks.
I won't mention them all. For a description of each site along the
trail, see this website.
Frog fishing in Boston
Common
Massachusetts State
House
Granary Burying Ground, founded in 1660, is the third oldest
cemetery in Boston and the final resting place of Paul Revere,
Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and the victims of the Boston Massacre.
The cemetery has 2,345 graves, but historians estimate as many as
5,000 people are buried there.
Granary Burying
Ground
Paul Revere,
1734-1818
Samuel Adams,
1722-1803
King's Chapel and Burying Ground, founded in 1630, is the oldest
cemetery in Boston and contains the remains of the first governor
of Massachusetts, John Winthrop, and the first woman to step foot
off the Mayflower, Mary Chilton.
King's Chapel Burying
Ground
John Winthrop,
1588-1649
America's oldest tavern,
established 1796
Old North Church is Boston's oldest standing church, erected in
1723. This is where the famous “One if by land, two if by sea”
lanterns were hung on April 18, 1775, signaling to the patriots
that the British would be arriving for what would become the Battle
of Lexington via the “sea” - actually, the Charles River. This was
a highlight of the Freedom Trail for us, along with the U.S.S
Constitution and the burying grounds.
Old North
Church
Inside Old North
Church
The Old North Church was our last stop of the day. We walked across
the Charlestown Bridge, past the Constitution, to Pier 3, where we
caught the ferry back to Boston just in time for sunset. We caught
the Blue Line at Aquarium Station and returned to the hotel at
7:30.
U.S.S. Constitution at
sunset
The closest restaurant to our hotel was an Uno Chicago Grill, right
next door. I had rattlesnake pasta (penne pasta with spicy alfredo
sauce and chicken), and Tom had a sirloin. Hit the spot after all
the walking!
Patriotic doormat -
Don't tread on it
|