Our thing for today was the Freedom Trail. That is walking the Freedom Trail. And that started with a 15 minute walk from our motel to the subway station. That was about 9:00 and it was already humid. I knew right then it was going to be a long day.
Four stops after boarding we were at Boston Common. Dating from 1634, it is one of the oldest city parks in the country and with 50 acres it has space for many activities, including a large pond for swimming. The Freedom Trail starts at The Common (not Commons) and zig zags around the city ending across the Charles River at Bunker Hill. It’s quite a walk. There isn’t space here to tell about all the places we saw today, but I’ll mention a few.
The Granary Burying Ground is one of Boston’s oldest cemeteries and is the final resting place for Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Paul Revere. Further along was the Old South Meeting House, which was the organizing point for the Boston Tea Party. The Declaration of Independence was first read to the public by Col. Thomas Crafts from the east balcony of the Old State House.
By this time I was thinking seriously about a beer, but pressed on to see Paul Revere’s house and the Old North Church. Officially known as Christ Church in the City of Boston, it is the “One if by land and two if by sea” site that set Paul Revere off on his famous ride to warn the countryside.
After crossing the Charles River the beer was weighing heavily on our collective mind. How fortunate to find Max & Dylan’s, which offered cold beer and poor service. More walking brought us to the Boston Navy Yard. Founded in 1801, it was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities for the US Navy. It is now home to the USS Constitution. Launched in 1797, she has never been retired from service and is still an active duty US Navy ship. Also there is the WWII era museum ship the USS Cassin Young (DD-792.)
Ok, so now we are as far away as we can get from our starting point at The Common. What to do? We reverse and follow the Freedom Trail backwards. On the way we stop at a Starbucks for a bottle of their expensive water. Barb wants to go to Cheers, so that becomes our destination. It’s past our original starting point, but we keep walking and finally get there. We enter and when we start to sit down we are told sitting at tables is only for those ordering dinner. Want a drink, go upstairs. Upstairs we sit down and after a few minutes are told tables are only for those ordering dinner. We leave. I would never, never, never go back to this place.
What to do now. Oh, it’s about time for dinner. We remembering passing Ye Old Union Oyster House about halfway through the Freedom Trail. Looked good. Can we walk that far? Let’s try. We tried and actually made it. Established in 1826, it is America’s oldest restaurant. We were seated upstairs next to booth #18, which has a sign hanging over it identifying it as The Kennedy Booth. #18 is a nice booth located next to the bar. Barb had mushroom ravioli and I settled for the shrimp and scallops. Turned out to be one of the best meals we have ever had.
We started walking back toward The Common when an empty cab cruised slowly by. Fifteen minutes later we were back in our room.
All in all it was a great day. Except for the humidity, Barb’s blisters and I have to tell you my dogs are barking. So much walking wasn’t a whole lot of fun, but there was so much history to see. Next time I would spend at least 3 days exploring Boston.
Tomorrow we want to leave early, like about 5:30 and head to Gettysburg. Zero miles driving, lots walking.
No comments:
Post a Comment