Boston

Jun. 30, 2019 - Jul. 6, 2019

Sunday was an awesome day.  We found Old Town Trolley Tours here in Boston and added a Freedom Trail Tour too.  We decided to take the tour even with the threat of rain.  We hopped on the Trolley at around 10 am near the Boston Library. We found a discount parking coupon for the Back Bay Parking Garage, it is only a block away from Copley Square where one of the trolley stops is located.  We hopped on the trolley at stop 12 which was right by Trinity Church on Boylston St.  It had just rained but stopped while we were waiting at the bus stop.  Our driver was not the most fascinating but we got off at the Boston Common stop to meet up with our Freedom Trail tour.  We were about 40 mins early for the tour so we went to the Dunkin Donuts across the street.  There seems to be more Dunkin's than there are Starbucks....I like that! Actually Dunkin was founded just south of Boston in Quincy, MA.  As we stood in line for the tour to start, the rain started. Luckily it didn't rain very hard and it stopped pretty quickly. There were two tour guides we could end up with.  No disrespect intended to the gentleman, but the lady seemed to be a firecracker and we really feel we got lucky to be in her group.  She was representing Elizabeth Oliver (real name Arielle Kaplan) who was the daughter of the tax collector for the crown when all the trouble started. Our group was 24 strong and "Elizabeth" did a great job leading us around. We strolled past the Massachusetts State House and thru the Boston Common. Next we visited the Granary Burying Ground where Paul Revere, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams are all buried. Next we walked to the plaza outside the Old South Meeting House where the Bostonians decided to go toss all the tea into the harbor.  We strolled on to the Old State House and the site of the Boston Massacre. We ended at the Samuel Adams statue outside Faneuil Hall. This was about half of the Freedom Trail but it was fun to have a guide. The website is great and gives most of the same info that the guide did but not with as much personality.  Next we went to the oldest restaurant in America, Union Oyster House established 1826. I tried their clam chowder and was not impressed. Elard seemed to enjoy his lobster roll and the beer was good. We hopped back on the trolley to finish that tour and darn it, we got the same tour guide we started with. So we got off at the next stop and waited for the next trolley.  We got a great guide this time around and enjoyed the rest of the tour....well except for the down pour that occurred at the end of the tour. We had to lower the flaps over the windows so we couldn't see much of the last 2 stops. The rain lasted for about 20 minutes so we just rode the tour again and were able to see everything.  Good day overall.

Monday was an education day.  Elard was studying how all the bells and whistles on his camera work, preparing for fireworks photography on Thursday. I edited photos in preparation for this weeks post and sat outside to enjoy the weather.  I had a dragonfly land on my tablet but, I couldn't get my camera up fast enough to catch him. I know there are bluebirds here too, I can hear them but they are not coming by to say hi.  I had to come back inside when we got a new neighbor.  I think they were new to their RV because they were having trouble with their leveling system and I just couldn't watch any longer.

Tuesday we drove over to Quincy, MA to the Adams National Historic Site.  They have the birthplace of John Adams and of John Quincy Adams, as well as the final home of John and Abigail Adams.  I love visiting these historic sites. 4 generations of the family lived in the home, then it was turned over to park service. I love all the books.  Books everywhere, on every subject!  It is interesting to imagine how people lived back in the day. How much could we accomplish today if we spent as much time as they did in contemplation and thinking and communicating.

Wednesday was intended for sewing but instead I slept in and prepared for our excursion back into Boston for the fireworks show.  I watched several instruction videos on the operation of my camera. 

Thursday we left early to head in to Boston.  We managed to park and use the subway to get to the Doubletree Downtown before 10:00 am.  We expected to just have them hold our bags until check in time but they actually had a room ready for us.  We opted for the $12 one day pass for the transit system that includes all modes of transit in the system. We rode the subway down to the harbor and caught the Charlestown Ferry to the USS Constitution Park.  On July 4th they "sail" the USS Constitution out into the harbor and fire the cannons in salute to the nation.  We were able to see it from the ferry with the fire boats on each side shooting water in to the air in their own salute. Once we landed on the Charlestown side we walked up to Bunker Hill Monument to start the Freedom Trail.  Of course Elard had to climb it, and of course I did not.  We strolled down the trail and all I could think of was "Follow the yellow brick road".  Only the bricks of this trail are red. There are many pretty statues and sculptures and parks along the trail. The trail continued across a very old bridge to the Copp's Hill Burying Ground where Robert Newman, the guy who hung the lanterns for Paul Revere, is buried. Next was the Old North Church where the lanterns were hung, and Paul Revere's home.  It was now time for some refreshments so we went to a restaurant recommended by a fellow ferry traveler. The Boston Sail Loft, we had a 45 minute wait but the food was good and the beer was cold. It was a scorcher of a day so we decided to go back to the hotel until time to go to the fireworks display.  We made a stop at the Fairmont again for a refreshing beverage before the show.  We parked on the top level of the Clarendon St. parking garage with the hope that the fireworks would be visible from there.  It worked out perfect.  There were a few locals up there with the same idea. We had plenty of room to play with the cameras and enjoy the show without 500,000 of our closest friends! It was 20 minute show and I tried recording it.  Didn't work out as well as I'd planned but not horrible.  Elard got a few good shots too.  It's hard to get good at photographing fireworks unless you live in Vegas! Anyways, it was a good way to end the day.

Friday, we got checked out of the hotel and had breakfast at Mike & Patty's again.  I spoke with one of the employees and he said they serve about 300 a day and that they will have a line down the street on weekends. We walked back to Copley square to get photos of the library again and there was another street market going on.  We walked on to the Boston Common to get photos of the swan boats and the sculptures of a Momma duck and her ducklings, "Make way for ducklings".  Our historic tavern tour, by Ye Olde Tavern Tours, started at the corner of the Boston Common near the Park Street Church. Our guide's name was Elizabeth again! but her real name this time. She led us through the first half of the Freedom Trail and three historic tavern.  Our first tavern stop was 21st Amendment originally named the Bellevue Pub, it's said that JFK worked on several of his speeches here near the fireplace.  We strolled down by the Kings Chapel on School street to Scholars Lounge. A favorite of Paul Revere and Sam Adams (even though Sam didn't drink). We ended the tour at the place where the plot to kidnap Paul Revere was discovered and the midnight ride was planned, the Green Dragon. I loved it.  All the beer and cider were good and Elizabeth did a wonderful job with fun stories of the history both revolutionary and otherwise. I HIGHLY recommend this tour, Huzzah! We go to meet the founder of Ye Olde Tavern Tours who has found a very creative way to use her PhD in history.

Saturday.  Today has been about rest, relaxation, laundry, and electrical lessons.  Our breaker has tripped multiple times so we've had to figure out what we can run in combination in the coach to keep the load balanced.  The RV Park did come check and discovered they have low voltage on one of the supply legs and that we have an old breaker in their supply box where we plug in.  Luckily we were able to get the laundry finished.  It rained around 6 o'clock cooling things down outside so we didn't have to run so many air conditioners.  Always something right?

Make Life an Adventure!