Faneuil Hall and Samuel Adams Statue:
We grabbed lunch near Faneuil Hall and walked around a bit before taking the "T" (subway) to the Museum of Science where we picked up our Duck Tour (in amphibious WWII vehicles). Admittedly, it's a totally tourist thing to do, but it worked out great because it was chilly and drizzly that day so we got to see the city from a covered vehicle. We also got a bit of history on things and were able to get the lay of the land before we really hit the pavement the next day. Plus, who doesn't love being able to just drive into a body of water?!? I tell you what, the engineers that came up with the design for those things were genius. It's such a weird feeling to be riding around in traffic and then plop, you're sailing up the Charles River.
Massachusetts State House:
Saturday morning we got up and went on the hunt for breakfast, which normally wouldn't seem difficult. However, since we were staying in the Financial District, it's like a ghost town down there on weekend mornings. Literally everything was closed. We finally found a place near Boston Common, where we then started our daylong journey on the Freedom Trail, a 2.5-mile walking trail that winds through Boston over to Charlestown and has 16 historic sites along the way. There were way too many neat things to write about here, but I'll highlight a few. The Granary Burying Ground is the resting place of many famous folks, and many ordinary citizens as well. John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, Peter Faneuil, Ben Franklin's parents and the five victims of the Boston Massacre, along with an estimated 5,000 others.
The Old South Meeting House (see above) was built in 1729 as a Puritan church, but was the site of patriotic protests and Sam Adams' speech which started the Boston Tea Party. I kept telling Brooke it felt strange to be standing where so many of our nation's greatest patriots stood.
At Faneuil Hall, we stumbled upon a music festival of sorts -- in the main chamber on the second floor, there was an orchestra playing and it was gorgeous. I could have sat there all afternoon, but we had to get going to meet Becky and Don for lunch. On the way I had my first experience of paying to use the bathroom at McDonald's...there was literally a coin slot and you had to put a quarter in before the door would unlock. Hilarious! I'm suprised the toilet paper was free! Anyway, before we met B&D, we stopped by the Holocaust Memorial -- it's a very simple park with these glass towers, but so moving. The towers are each inscribed with the millions of identification numbers of the people killed during the Holocaust, along with inscriptions of quotes from survivors and their memories.
We had lunch at Ye Olde Oyster House and sat in the booth across from what was evidently JFK's favorite booth when he ate there. From there, we walked over to the North End (Boston's Little Italy) and saw Paul Revere's house and the Old North Church where the "one if by land, two if by sea" lanterns were hung in the steeple (see below).
Becky, me and Brooke on Charlestown Bridge over the Charles River:
We then walked across the Charlestown Bridge to see the monument at the Battle of Bunker Hill and the U.S.S. Constitution. As luck would have it, we happened to saunter up to the ferry landing just before the last ferry back to the city was leaving. We would have been really stuck if we'd arrived five minutes later! That night we had some great food and plenty of Irish music -- one great thing about Boston is the Irish pubs on every street corner!
Sunday Brooke and I slept late while Becky and Don went back and caught the first part of the Freedom Trail they'd missed on Saturday morning. We met them at our T stop and joined the masses making their way to Fenway Park. Our seats were amazing!!! We were just to the third base side of home plate and 11 rows from the field. It was a beautiful day, the game was a good one and the Rangers won! We also caught drinks and a snack at the Cask n' Flagon just outside the gates, which was named the #2 Baseball Bar in the U.S. by ESPN...which led us to wonder....what is the #1 baseball bar?
View from our fantastic seats:
Becky, Don, me and Brooke with Fenway behind us:
Brooke and me at the Cask 'n Flagon:
That night we met up and went back to the North End for dinner and landed at Giacomo's on the recommendation of one of Don's friends. All I can say is that it was one of the best meals I've ever had. The place is tiny so you have to wait out on the sidewalk for a table. The menu is on chalkboards on the walls and the food is so fresh. Mmmm......can I go back now, please? We capped off the night with drinks at Bell in Hand, the oldest continually running bar in the U.S.
Faneuil Hall at night:
Poor Brooke....I made her get up early on Monday so we could go see "my churches" as she called them. Hey, I have a thing for architecture and we'd seen the Old South Church and Trinity Church on the Duck Tour on Friday and I had to go back before we caught our flight. They were beautiful and worth the early start. Anyway, it was a great trip and I kept telling Isaiah we have to take a trip there sometime so I can show him around!
Old South Church:
So I already wrote about my trip to the DFW area and my first stop in College Station. Friday morning I got up and drove to Houston. Maryann, the girls and I spent the day swimming and hanging out until Clay got home and then we swam some more! Loren is becoming a great little swimmer and will jump off the diving board (!) but Camryn is still not so sure about the water. She's content to sit on the steps, let you tote her around and jump in from the side. I'm not sure whose hand print it is, but I have the cutest little outline of a hand on my shoulder where somebody with sunscreen was holding onto me in the pool. I just love those girls to death! Maryann and I had a bit of a scare when I was passing her my camera -- we botched the hand-off and it fell in the pool on the top step! A camera, although it would have been a pain, can be replaced.....but not all my Boston pictures! Maryann fished it out quickly and we figured it was a goner but after drying it out for a day, it's back to new and seems no worse for wear. Yay for little miracles!
Saturday evening I headed back to College Station and had dinner with my sweet friends Megan, Libby and Allison. These girls are so dear to me and I miss our Thursday night Bible study/chat fests. Since Megan is pregnant to the point of popping (she was due on Thursday), we picked up food and hung out at her house. It was so good to see them, especially since our group is changing so quickly. I moved away in May and now Libby and her husband Greg are moving to Pennsylvania in July. Greg defended his dissertation today and I heard he did great -- congrats, Dr. Paul!
I finally arrived home in Lubbock yesterday afternoon! I had really wanted to stay in College Station until Megan had her baby, but it looked like baby Stewart was going to take her sweet time....that, and Isaiah was practically begging me to come home and spend Sunday with him. I got up early that morning and hit the road by 7:40 or so and suprised Isaiah by pulling in around 2:15. He was sweet enough to cook dinner and let me watch my TV shows while we just relaxed around the house. This week I have laundry, dishes (a sinkful!) and other domesticky-type stuff to catch up on. Thrilling, I know. Until next time....
So glad you are home! And it's so cool that "home" is only a few minutes away from me! :) Love you sweetums!
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